
,■,.■■■.■-.....■.- 

■i 












>-%. 



sT ^ 












^ vV 



1 ^ ,^ 






^ V 












o 




^ 






vOo. 



V 



<*> .0 



o N 






&* V'* *A %• 



\ 



p <£. 



o x 



> 



\ . 



# 






./*. 









^<: 


















-9 















V 



Q 



P ^ 



\ 



Oo 









"^^ 






■\ 












\ 



\ 



- 



^ 









\\ V 






























\ > 






' 









/.■■■ 










































A 






•V 






s 



.*«% 







0' 






; r 

\ 






> 

A ' 











<« 













•v- * 






\ 



o°. 



0- 



N. 



> ^ 



<■ 




v v 



W 





























A Child of Light 

Or, 

Heredity and Prenatal 
Culture = 

CONSIDERED IN 
THE LIGHT OF THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY 



BY 

NEWTON N RIDDELL 

Lecturer on "Heredity," "Psychology," "Psychic Phenomena," "Brain 
Building," and "Soul Growth." 




Chicago : 

Child of Light Publishing Company 
1900 



T^s 



3 o o o 



p 



n<j>''*s6! 



Library of Co 

Iwo Copies Received 
JUL 9 1900 

Copyright entry 



SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

ORDER DIVISION, 

JUL 10 1900 



. -ry< *0t 



84907 

Copyright, 1900, 

By 

NEWTON N. RIDDED, 



All Rights Reserved. 



REGAN PRINTING HOUSE, CHICAGO 



To My 
Father and Mother, 

James and Elizabeth Riddell, 

Who, 

by Their Religious Devotion During My Prenatal Development, 

Made the Desire to Follow the Christ 

In a Labor of Love for the Good of Mankind 

The Ruling Passion of My Life, 

This Book is Affectionately Dedicated. 



A WORD OF THANKS. 



In grateful memory, I would 
acknowledge my indebtedness to 
the late Frances E. Willard. 

In my humble efforts to popu- 
larize the study of heredity, for 
years her wise counsel and words of 
encouragement were a constant in- 
spiration. Her parting words to 
me, "God bless you, brother; go on!' 3 
spoken a few weeks before the 
Father called her home, now form 
a most sacred memory and hallowed 
benediction. 

I would also acknowledge my in- 
debtedness to Louise E. Francis for 
her efficient service in searching the 
libraries of the country. Without 
her faithful assistance in comparing 
and compiling statistics many valu- 
able facts here published must have 
been omitted, N. N. R. 



PREFACE. 



The present volume is intended to meet the increasing 
demand that I have found, not only at Chautauqua As- 
semblies and in centers of culture, but throughout the en- 
tire country, for a practical treatise on heredity and pre- 
natal culture. I have endeavored to reduce the known 
facts and laws of reproduction to a definite science and 
present them in a non-technical, concise form, hoping 
thereby to enable thoughtful parents to apply these laws to 
the improvement of their offspring. I have purposely 
avoided the discussion of biological problems and specula- 
tions on the physical basis of heredity, and confined my- 
self to what seems most important to the practical applica- 
tion to the science. I have considered prenatal culture 
in the light of, and in accordance with, the new psychol- 
ogy. This I deem one of the most important and helpful 
departures from other works on heredity. In recognizing 
the potency of a suggestion in prenatal impressions and 
introducing the new methods of brain building and soul 
growth, I fully realize that I shall incur the criticism of 
some, and that I am not in accord with certain time- 
honored theories. No matter; the new psychology has 
come to stay. The efficacy of suggestion in soul building 
is a demonstrable fact, therefore I do not hesitate to base 



vi 'AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 

my teachings upon the new science and to commend it to 
parents in prenatal training. 

I have dwelt at some length on psychology, the powers 
of the soul and the laws of brain building and soul 
growth, hoping thereby to make the work practical and 
helpful to all who seek to improve self or others. 

During the fifteen years spent in gathering and devel- 
oping the subject matter of this work, it has been my con- 
stant desire to prepare something that would be truly 
helpful in solving the problems of life and human prog- 
ress. I have tried to do my work faithfully and consci- 
entiously. Notwithstanding the many imperfections of 
this book, I can but feel that were its teachings put 
into practice they would prove a blessing not only to par- 
ents and their offspring, but to all ; at least such is my fond 
hope and sincere prayer. 

,Yours in Humanity's Cause, 

Newton N. Riddell. 

Washington, D. C, 1900. 



AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. 

In the preparation of this work I have consulted many 
authorities and compared their facts, theories and statis- 
tics with my own observations. Every quotation used is 
duly credited to its author. To avoid the use of foot- 
notes, the principal works consulted, aside from encyclo- 
pedias, and the Bureau of Statistics, are here listed. I 
commend them to the student. 

"The Origin of Species' , and "Descent of Man" — Dar- 



AUTHORITIES CONSULTED. vii 

win. "The Evolution of Man" — Haeckel. "Principles of 
Biology" — Spencer. "Ascent of Man" — Drummond. 
"The Germ-Plasm" — Weismann. "Man's Place in Na- 
ture" — Huxley. "Natural Inheritance" and "Hereditary 
Genius" — Galton. "The Biological Problems of Today" 
— Hertwig. "Foot-Notes to Evolution" — Jordan. "The- 
ory of Development and Heredity" — Marshall. "Hered- 
ity" — Ribot. "Darwin and After Darwin" — Romanes. 
"The Science of a New Life" — Cowan. "Creative and 
Sexual Science" — Fowler. "Prenatal Culture" — New- 
ton. "Marriage and Disease" and "Suicide and Insanity" 
— Strahan. "Marriage and Heredity" — Nisbet. "Sani- 
ty and Insanity" — Charles Mercier. "The Constitution 
of Man" — Comb. "The Psychic Life of Micro-Organ- 
isms. " — Binet. "The Law of Heredity" — Brooks. "Civ- 
ilization's Inferno"— Flower. "A Study in Crime"— 
Dugdale. "Heredity, Health and Personal Beauty" — 
Shoemaker. "Stiripiculture" — Holdbrook. "Heredity and 
Christian Problems" — Bradford. "Tokology" — Stock- 
ham. "Maternal Impressions" — Bayer. "Crime and 
Criminals" — Christison. "Elements of Psychology" and 
"Mental Development in the Child" — Baldwin. "Mind 
in Matter" — Hemstreet. "The Temperaments" — Jac- 
ques. "The Senses and the Intellect" — Bain. "Abnormal 
Man" and "Juvenile Offenders" — Morrison. "The Crim- 
inal" — Ellis. "Darwinism and Race Progress" — Hay- 
craft. "Heredity and Personal Responsibility" — Wright. 
"Heredity with Preludes" — Cook. "Education and Her- 
edity" — Guyon. "Human Embryology" — Minot. "The 
Female Offender" and "The Man of Genius" — Lombro- 
so. "How the Other Half Lives"— Rhys. "White Slaves" 
— Banks. "Prisoners of Poverty" — Bois. "Manhood 
Wrecked and Rescued" — Hunter. "Character Building" 
— De Motte. "The Law of Psychic Phenomena" and "The 



viii A UTHORITIES CONSULTED. 

Divine Pedigree of Man" — Hudson. "Pathology of 
Mind" — Maudesley. "Science of the Soul" — Sherman. 
"The Degenerate" — Nordau. "Transmission" — Kirby. 
"The Philosophy of Generation" — Newman. "Psycho- 
logical Theory" — Bowne. "Essentials of Psychology" — 
Buell. "Elements of Psychology" — Compayre. "Ele- 
ments of Psychology" — Davis. "Elements of Psychol- 
ogy" — Day. "Psychology" — Dewey. "New Psychol- 
ogy" — Gordy. "Psychology and Psychic Culture" — 
Halleck. "Psychology" — Hewett. "Inductive Psychol- 
ogy" — Kirkpatrick. "Practical Lessons in Psychology" 
— Krohn. "Outlines of Psychology" — Kulp. "Elements 
of Physiological Psychology" — Ladd. "Outlines of De- 
scriptive Psychology" — Ladd. "Psychology" — McCosh. 
"Applied Psychology" — McLellen. "Lectures on Man" 
— Fowler. "Psychology and Education" — Roark. "The 
Science of Mind Applied to Teaching" — Hoffman. 
"Physiological Psychology" and "Experimental Psychol- 
ogy" — Sanford. "Psychology" — Schuyler. "Phrenol- 
ogy in the School-room"— Sizer. "Rudimentary Psychol- 
ogy" — Steele. "Outlines of Psychology" — Sully. "Brain 
and Mind" — Drayton. "Lectures on Man" — Weaver. 
"Psychology" — Titchener. "Principles of Psychology" 
— James. "Lectures on Human and Animal Psychol- 
ogy" — Wundt. "Mental Development" and "Handbook 
of Psychology" — Baldwin. "Apparitions and Thought- 
Transferrence" — Podmore. "An Introduction to Com- 
parative Psychology" — Morgan. "The Growth of the 
Brain" — Donaldson. "The New Psychology" — Scrip- 
ture. "Hypnotism" — Moll. "Hypnotism" — Anderson. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

I.— INTRODUCTION .17—34 

Let There Be Light— The Power of Light — The Light of Truth — The 
Light of the Spirit — The Light of Science — The Twentieth Century — The 
Study of Man — Heredity Is a Science — Objects in View — A Child of Light 
— Facts, Not Theories — The View Point — Data from Personal Observa- 
tions — Studies in Prenatal Culture — Authorities Consulted — The Study 
of the Ages — Sacred History and Heredity — Ishmael — Aristotle's Studies — 
Heredity Applied in Rome — Plato's Plans of Wisdom — Modern Students 
of Heredity — A Self -Evident Truth — Why Thinkers Disagree — Peculiarities 
Are Inborn — Views of Mercier — Heredity Versus Environment — Mentality 
of Children — Variations in the Child Life — Genius Is Hereditary — Lorn- 
broso's Studies — Galton on Hereditary Genius — Morbid Heredity — Sta- 
tistics on Criminal Heredity — Maudsley's Deductions — Heredity in Plant 
and Animal Life — Man the Product of Blind Chance — Few Children Are 
Well Born — The True Basis of All Reform — Prenatal Versus Postnatal 
Training. 

II.— SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED 35—51 

Why Objections Are Raised — Heredity the Scape-Goat for Crime — 
Man the Product of Centuries — Prenatal Plus Postnatal Influences — 
Heredity an Unknown Quantity — All Factors Are Potential — Inborn 
Versus Acquired Traits — Every Trait Has Many Causes — Generation, 
Education, Regeneration — The Triangle of Man's Life — The False Basis of 
Reckoning — Basal Tendencies Inborn — Heredity and Moral Responsibility 
— Responsibility Varies — Man's Ability to Do Right — Responsibility of 
Criminals — Few Criminals Are Blameless — Freedom of the Human Will — 
Hereditary Tendencies May Be Controlled — Divine Justice — "Who-so-ever 
Will" — Christian Science — Heredity of Mrs. Eddy — "Consistency, Thou 
Art a Jewel" — Theosophical Objections — Opposition to Prenatal Responsi- 
bility — Placing the Blame Upon God — Parents Are Responsible — Heredity 
a Proper Study — Frances Willard's Views — Divinity Is Here. 

III.— PSYCHOLOGY . « 52 — 68 

James — Halleck — Ladd — Morgan — Wundt — Baldwin — Psychology De- 
fined — The Study of Metaphysics — School-room Psychology — Phrenology 
— Gall's Philosophy — Weak Points of Phrenology — Physiological Psychol- 
ogy — Field of Investigation — Experimental Stage of Psychology — Facts 
of Physiological Psychology — Nerve Action Determines Sensation — Physi- 
cal Basis of Memory — Limitations of Physiological Psychology — Prof. 
James — The New Psychology — The Duality of Mind — The Objective and 



x CONTENTS. 



Subjective Minds — Subjective Perception — Prophecy — Subjective Memory 
— Occult Powers — The Psychology of the Future — The Study of Man — 
Relations of the Psychical and Physical Natures — Man a Psychic Organ- 
ism — An Essential to Right Thinking — Evidences of the Soul — Mind 
Without a Brain — Vital vs. Chemical Action — The Resident Life — Hered- 
ity Demonstrates the Soul — Psychic Impressions — Evidences of Telepathy 
• — Proved by Hypnotism — The Soul Rules in Death — Job Saw a Spirit — 
I, the Ego Says So — Consciousness the Supreme Evidence — Darkness Can- 
not Measure the Light — Man Is a Soul — The Soul Evades Analysis — 
Consciousness Explained — Mind Is Not Soul — The Brain Limits the Mind 
— Relations of the Objective and Subjective Minds — Gray Matter Cannot 
Produce a Thought — Modus Operandi of Mind — Vibrations Between the 
Objective and Subjective Minds — The Phenomena of Thinking — Thinking 
Controls Conduct. 

IV.— BRAIN BUILDING AND SOUL GROWTH 69—81 

Truth Shall Make You Free — The Fetters of Ignorance — The Struggle 
for Liberty — Character Building — Establishing a Brain Area — The Brain 
Limits the Man — Sowing Wild Oats — Dr. DeMotte on Brain Tracks — 
Physical Basis of Vice — The Basis of Virtue — Re-forming the Brain — 
Effects of Old Brain Paths — General Joe Wheeler — The Government of 
Children — The Law of Brain Building — Repeated Mentation Required — » 
The Brain Must Be Nourished — To Restrain Evil Tendencies — The Hidden 
Talent — Controlling the Appetites — Soul Building by Suggestion — A 
Hypnotic Demonstration — He Would Not Drink Liquor — A Fact of Su- 
preme Importance — The Potency of a Suggestion — The Law of Soul 
Growth — How to Lodge a Suggestion — The Secret of Self-control — Pre- 
fixing the Character — Suggestions to Be Lodged — To Strengthen the Will 
— Sequel of Soul Growth — The Holy Spirit — Freedom for All — The Law 
of Denial — Nature Abhors a Vacuum — The Three Great Essentials — Saved 
by Inexorable Law. 

V.— THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE 82—93 

Life Is a Mystery — Living Protoplasm — Spencer — Prof. Japp — The 
Phenomena of Life — The Vital Principle — The Immanent God — Evolu- 
tion — Reproduction Evades Analysis — Biological Speculation — The Physi- 
cal Basis of Heredity — Life Inheres in the Soul — Darwin's Theory — The 
Soul of a Cell — The Primordial Cell — Galton's Experiments — A Psychic 
Organism — How Life Is Reproduced — Physical Basis of a New Life — A 
Simple Explanation of Reproduction — Weismann's Theory — Chromatin — 
The Germ Cell — Origin of Germ-Plasm — Reproduction in Man — Continuity 
of Germ-Plasm — Bisexual Parentage — The Theory of Heredity — Darwin's 
Theory Contradicted — Mutilations Not Transmitted — Acquired Characters 
Are Transmitted — The Chinese Foot. 

VI.— THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY 94—104 

Weismann — Bradford — Ribot — Heredity Defined — The Laws of Hered- 
ity — The Opposing Principles of Heredity — Man an Epitomy of the Race 
— The Gift of Heredity — The Factors of Heredity Defined — (1) Species — 
(2) Racial Types — (3) National Characteristics — (4) Family and Parental 
Traits — (5) Sex Potency — (6) Dual Parentage — (7) Atavism — (8) Pre- 
natal Culture — (9) Initial Impressions — (10) Maternal Impressions — 
(11) Abnormal Impressions — (12) Planetary Influences — Heredity Applied 



CONTENTS. xi 



to Character Study — Each Factor an Unknown Quantity — Factors in 
Opposition — Variations Explained — Factors Differ in Strength — Variations 
Through Parental Differences — Fixed vs. Acquired Characters — The He- 
brew Character — All Seeming Contradictions Explicable — No Exceptions 
to the Law of Heredity — Remote Factors Considered — Planetary Influ- 
ences — The Solar System an Organism — Magnetic Relation of Planets — 
Effects of Planetary Changes. 

VII. — PARENTAL ADAPTATION 105—119 

Marriage Is Natural — The Importance of Adaptation — The Basis of 
Marriage — What Constitutes Marriage — Legal Bondage — Inharmony Af- 
fects Offspring — The Search for a Law — Finding a Mate — Degrees of 
Adaptability — Looking for the Impossible — Natural Affinities — The Basis 
of Adaptation — Three Rules for Marriage — No Law Applicable to All — 
Unfavorable Unions — Married, But Not Mated — Children of Unmated 
Parents — Should Like Marry Like? — The Law of Complements — The 
Dream of the Sentimentalist — Love's Mismatches — Two Rulers in One 
Household — Children from Parents of Like Temperaments — Tempera- 
mental Requirements — The Union of Sanguine Temperaments — The Law 
of Sex Adaptation — Masculinity and Femininity — The Law of Attractions 
— Masculine Women and Feminine Men — Discernment of Adaptation — 
Family Resemblance a Key to Adaptation — Soul Harmony — Love's Lan- 
guage — The Basis of Soul Harmony — Organic Quality in Nature — Soul 
Vibrations — Why Some Cannot Understand Each Other — Natures That 
Do Not Blend — Composite Children. 

VIII.— SEX POTENCY 120—134 

The Mystery of Sex — The Creative Principle of Life — A Bubbling 
Spring of Joy — The Three Functions of Sex — Influence of Sex Power — ■ 
The Development of Manhood and Womanhood — Kings and Queens of 
Society — Virtue Is Its Own Reward — Supreme Cause of Degeneracy — Few 
Know Their Possibilities — The Old Serpent — Science and Tradition Agree 
— A Hint to the Wise — The Secret of Eternal Youth — Magnetism Defined 
— Voluntary and Involuntary Magnetism — Silent Forces Rule the World — 
Magnetism and Character — The Secret of Eloquence — Power of Personal 
Magnetism — Nature Proclaims Her Wisdom — Magnetism, Marriage and 
Parentage — The Nature and Duality of Love — Objective and Subjective 
Affinity — The Love of Men and Women Differ — Magnetism and Matrimony 
— Love Rules the Life — Love vs. Magnetic Attraction — Determining the 
Character of the Affections — What Separates Souls — Contradictory Feel- 
ings Explained — A Practical Demonstration — How to Choose Aright — 
The Three-Fold Character of Love — A Perfect Union — Sex Potency and 
Heredity — The Limitations of Parenthood — The Sons of Great Men — 
Children Superior to the Parents. 

IX. — DUAL PARENTAGE 135—142 

Dual Parentage and Evolution — Dr. Jordan on Bisexual Parentage — 
The Three Great Races — The Combining of Races — The Formation of 
Nationalities! — The Blending of Family Traits — Every Child a Compound 
of Its Parents — Combining of Morbid Conditions — Results of Favorable 
Unions — A Born Genius — Bad Combinations — The Formation of a Criminal 
— A Boy Vicious from Birth — Endless Variety Through Dual Parentage — 
Where Parental Natures Do Not Blend — Relative Influence of Parents — 
Family Resemblances — A Law of Heredity. 



xii CONTENTS. 



X.— ATAVISM 143—149 

Atavism Defined — Atavism in Natural History — Pathological Atavism 
— The Fact of Atavism — Pepper's Observations— Family Traits Re- 
appear — Causes of Atavism — Effects of Use and Disuse — The Reappear- 
ance of Genius — Effects of Dual Parentage — Combination of Latent Forces 
— Slumbering Talents Awakened — Intermittent Heredity — Resemblance to 
a Grandparent — Atavism and Genius — A Descendant of Newton — Atavism 
and Variations. 



PART II.— PRENATAL CULTURE. 

XI.— PRENATAL INFLUENCES 150—163 

Acquired Characters Transmitted — Darwin — Zeime — Cowan — Hol- 
brook — Newton — Fowler — Animals Transmit Acquired Characters — A Born 
Station Agent — The Child of a Train Dispatcher — Effects of Physical 
Culture — A Father's Regrets — Holmes on Prenatal Culture — Parental Duty 
— Prenatal Influences Too Long Ignored — Children Born of Blind Chance — 
Cowan on Law and Order — Why the Abnormal Prevails — Many Observe 
no Law — Thoughtful Parents Study Heredity — Prenatal Culture Prac- 
tically Applied — A Tokology Child — A Born Orator — A Musical Prodigy — 
Exceptional Memory of Names — Practical Stiripiculture — Children Supe- 
rior to Parents— What Prenatal Culture Would Do — Heredity Should Be 
Popularized. 

XII.— PHYSICAL PREPARATION 164—178 

Possibilities of Prenatal Culture — Objects of Training — Self-Examina- 
tion — Deciding Upon the Objects in View — Mutual Preparation — The Time 
Required in Preparation — Improving Adaptation — Importance of Nutri- 
tion — A Nation of Dyspeptics — Good Cooks Are Scarce — Practical Dietetics 
— Oil-Tanned Beefsteak — Strengthening the Digestive Function — What to 
Eat — Respiration — The Blood Is the Life — Poor Ventilation — Why We 
Take Cold — Incubators of Disease Germs — Ailments Peculiar to Winter — 
Developing the Lungs — Breathing Exercises — Importance of Exercise — 
Weak Members Should Be Strengthened — Personal Habits — Cleanliness — 
Dangers of an Idle Moment — The Mother's Preparation — The Matter of 
Dress — Physical Culture — Social Dissipation — Children of Society Women 
— The Creative Principle — To Increase Virility — Sir Isaac Newton — A 
Well Born Child. 



XIII.— MENTAL PREPARATION 179 — 204 

Preparation for Parenthood — What Parents Should Cultivate — Op- 
posing Evil Tendencies — Unfa\orable Combinations — The Training Re- 
quired — Susceptibility Varies — Genius Is Abnormal — A Weil-Balanced 
Mind Best — The Law of Genius — Like Excites Like — The Secret of 
Domestic Harmony — Force of Character — Opposite Results from Overwork 
— To Improve the Financiering Instinct — Results of Training — A Boy's 
Ambition — Covetousness — Withholding Selfishness from Offspring — Trick- 
ery in Business — Effects of a Father's Forgery — Domestic Harmony — A 
Husband's Kindness — Prenatal Affection — Children of Love — Unaffec- 
tionate Children — A Mother's Disappointment— Source of Filial Affection 
— Self -Respect and Ambition — Suggestion for Strengthening the Charac- 



CONTENTS. xiii 

ter — Power of High Ideals — Children of Superintendents — Mechanical 
Ingenuity — Inventive Genius — To Increase Inventive Power — Originality 
Improved — The Heredity of an Inventor — Art and Music — Indifferent 
Mentation Ineffectual — The Perceptive Faculties — Cultivating Perceptive 
Power — Born Dullards — Why Some Are Slow to Learn — Effects of Cul- 
ture — Tommy and His Mother — Memory Denned — The Power of Recol- 
lection — Systems of Memory Culture — Memory Requires Brain Building — 
Improving the Memory— Specific Memories Vary — Laughter Is Invigo- 
rating — Cultivating Hope and Gladness — Effects of Worrying — The Burden 
of Care — Honest Men Wanted — Honesty May Be Inborn — Lying a Family 
Trait — A Mother's Experience — Cultivating Conscience — A Dishonest Suc- 
cess — Woman's Greatest Gift to the World — Kindness — The Measure of 
a Man's Religion — Altruism — To Cultivate Kindness — Suggestions for 
Soul Growth — Reverence and Faith — Reverence Essential to Government — 
Great Men Believe in God — Basis of Confidence — Letting in the Light — 
Faith a Dynamic Power — To Improve Reverence and Faith — Goodness in 
a Child's Face — Children of Light. 

XIV.— INITIAL IMPRESSIONS 205—214 

Generation, Birth and Regeneration — The Three Decisive Periods of 
Life — The Supreme Moment — A Strange Inconsistency — The Formation 
of a New Life — Initial Impressions — Inception During Intoxication — 
Power of Initial Impressions — Effect of Transient States — An Editor's 
Daughter — A White Sheep in a Black Flock — An Orator's Strange Influ- 
ence — The Inception of Life — A Dream Destroyed — Virility Determines 
Results — Vitality of Spermatozoa — Season Most Desirable for Birth — 
Advantages of the Spring Time — Physical Vigor Indispensable — Recrea- 
tion — Virility Governs Transmission — To Increase Magnetic Power — 
Period of Greatest Viability — Mutual Love and Confidence — The Vivifying 
Power of Love — Perfect Sympathy Is Desirable — Mental Condition De- 
sirable — Spiritual Preparation — To Create a Child in God's Image. 

XV.— MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS 215—227 

Evolutionary Heredity — Opinions of Authorities — Newton on Pre- 
natal Culture — Bayer on Maternal Impressions — When Education Should 
Begin — Fowler's Observations — Maternal Impressions and Genius — Napo- 
leon's Prenatal Training — "Buffalo Bill's" Heredity — Prof. Herron's 
Inheritance — Variations Through Impressions — Testimony of Mothers — 
Prenatal Education — Objections Answered — Relation of Mother and Child 
— The Order of Training — Hygenic Living Is Required — The Corset Must 
Go — Dr. Stockham — Chasity a Demand of Maternity — Helen Gardener — 
Dr. Cowan on Continence — The Abnormal Defended — A Chief Cause of 
Depravity — Infant Mortality — -The World's Great Need — Maternal Free- 
dom — Enslaved Motherhood — The Principles of Liberty Transmitted — 
Patriots Are Born of Free Women — Influence of Surroundings — Raphael's 
Madonna — Frances Willard — Opposite Tastes in Sisters. 

XVI.— MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS (Continued) 228—250 

The Formative Period — Prenatal Impressions Most Potential — No 
Short Cuts in Nature — Transcient Impressions Outgrown — Persistency of 
Fixed Factors — Persistent Training Required — The Animal Propensities — 
No Rule Applicable to All — Appetites and Longings — Courage and Energy 
— Suggestions to Strengthen Courage — The Acquisitive Instinct — Honesty 



xiv CONTENTS. 



Is Imperative — A Mother's Thief — Who Is to Blame — The Social Feelings 
— Why Children Are Bashful — Self-Consciousness — The Doors of Knowl- 
edge — Shaping the Intellectual Tendencies — A Mathematical Child — 
Mental Activity — A Noteworthy Fact — What to Read — Bad Literature — A 
Novel-Reading Preacher's Fate — Epidemics of Crime — Juvenile Offenders — 
Heredity vs. Environment — Vicious Impressions — Reading for Prenatal 
Culture — Companionship in Study — Unstudious Mothers — Stupid Children. 
— The Esthetic Faculties — Weak Qualities Overcome — Special Genius — 
Picture Impressions — A Second Edison — Dormant Powers Not Transmitted 
— Musical Talent Lost — A Strauge Contradiction — The Aspiring Senti- 
ments — Overcoming Sensitiveness — Maternity Is Divine — A Queenly Mis- 
sion — Reason, Intuition and Imagination — Importance of Mirthfulness — A 
Good Medicine — Smiles vs. Frowns — Rejoice and Be Glad — A Child of 
Joy — Influencing the Moral Sentiments — Religious Tendencies May Be 
Transmitted — Ordained from Birth — Born Preachers — Dedicated to God's 
Service — Her Boy Would Preach — Ministers' Sons Are Superior — Opposing 
Factors — Nominal Christians — Christianity Defined — Love Will Beget Its 
Own — Passive Sentiments Are Not Potential — The Most Active Powers 
Control — Worldly Children — Spiritual Growth Requires Solitude — Enter- 
ing the Silence — Spiritual Communion — Suggestions for Strengthening the 
Religious Nature. 

XVII.— ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS 251—268 

Birth Marks — Physical Evidences — Birth Marks a Fact — Dr. Fearn's 
Opinions — Dr. Jordan's Views — Weismann — Osborn and Fairfield — Ridi- 
cule vs. Argument — One Scientist's Opinion — Academic Nonsense — The 
True Scientist — Abnormal Impressions — Frightened by a Dog — A Bean 
Mark — Goes on Tip-toe — Frightened by a Drunkard — A Clownish Child — 
A Desirable Mark — The Lily of the Valley — A Child's Profanity — The 
Materialist's Dilemma — Psychic Power Undeniable — Maternal Impressions 
Explained — The Soul Governs Development — Rapport Between Mother 
and Child — The Law of a Suggestion — Lodging a Suggestion — Suscepti- 
bility to Impressions — Prenatal Individuality — Periods of Greatest Sus- 
ceptibility — Only Repeated Suggestions Effectual — Prevention of Abnor- 
malities: — Self-Control Essential — The Soul Should Be Free — Faith in 
Nature's God — Opposing Evil Influences — Prenatal Suggestions — Impres- 
sions May Be Controlled — A Short Cut to Genius — Sudden Impressions 
Seldom Effectual — Repeated Suggestions Required — Abnormalities Out- 
grown — Nature Maintains the Normal — Experimental Psychology — Normal 
Growth Requires Time — Results of Hypnotic Control — Mental Stimula- 
tion — Silent Suggestion — Control During Sleep — Hypnotism Practically 
Applied — Dangers in Hypnotism — Hypnotism Prenatally Applied — A 
Father's Experiments — Resemblance to the Unrelated — Possibilities of 
Motherhood — The Hope of Science. 



PART III.— THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

XVIII.— HEREDITY, INSANITY AND IMBECILITY 267—278 

Increase of Degenerates — Crime in Europe — Crime in the United 
States — A Grave Problem — Education and Crime — Religious Training — 
Prison Reports — Percentage of Illiteracy — Heredity vs. Postnatal Influ- 
ences — A Tangled Skein — Number of Idiotic and Epileptic — Heredity vs. 
Feeble-Mindedness — Statistics of the Feeble-Minded — Morbid Heredity — 



CONTENTS. xv 



Causes of Feeble-Mindedness — Narcotics and Feeble-Mindedness — Intem- 
perate Mothers — Abortive Drugs and Epilepsy — Degenerates Willfully 
Produced — An Appalling Crime — The Final Remedy — Insanity — Increase 
of Insanity — Chief Causes of insanity — Hereditary Insanity — Lombroso — 
Criminal Insanity — Dr. Guy's Conclusions — Alcohol and Insanity. 

XIX.— HEREDITY, HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE 279—295 

The Increase of Crime — Crime in New York City — Crime in the 
United States — Frequency of Suicide — Foreign Criminals — Alcohol vs. 
Heredity — Hereditary Suicidal Tendencies — Suicide of an Oxford Student 
— A Family Mania — The Ishmael Family — Descendants of Frau Ada 
Jurke — Statistics in Criminal Heredity — Per Cent of Hereditary Criminals 
— The Principal Causes of Crime — The Well-Born Seldom Commit Crime — 
The Occasional Criminal — The Hereditary Criminal — The Juvenile Offender 
— Increase of Hereditary Criminals — Bad Maternal Impressions — Two 
Sons Born in Crime — Attempted Abortion Produces Criminals — Prenatal 
History of Vicious Children — Suicidal Tendencies in a Child — A Would-Be 
Parricide — Undesired Maternity — A Mother-Made Criminal — Extreme 
Cruelty Inborn — A Mother's Confession — An Awful Awakening — Increase 
of Criminal Abortion — Statistics on Infanticide — Dr. Chandler on Pre- 
natal Mortality — Number of Prenatal Murders — Is Abortion Murder? — 
Dr. Stockham on Criminal Abortion — Crime Inevitable — The Sin of 
Christendom — The Infant Host — The Judgment Day of Nations — At the 
Threshold of Eternity. 

XX.— HEREDITY AND COMMERCIALISM 296—309 

Mammon Worship — The Power of Wealth — Poverty a Disgrace — The 
Right to Acquire — Abuses of Wealth — Succeeding Generations Affected — 
Slaving Is Unnecessary — Excessive Toil Injures Offspring — Children Born 
Tired — Overwork Depletes the Brain — Commercialism Begets Selfishness 
— Mind Is a Limited Quantity — What Constitutes a Genius — The Future 
American — Gold May Rule to Ruin — Selfishness Begets Dishonesty — Dis- 
honest Children from Honest Parents — Business Deception Produces 
Criminals — The Offspring of Thieves — A Family of Counterfeiters — In- 
crease of the Gambling Instinct — Gambling Common to All Classes — 
Tendency Towards Gambling Inborn — A Characteristic of Gamblers — 
Fourth of July Bombast — Class Distinction — Nihilism and Anarchy — 
Ling, the Anarchist — The Colored Criminal — The Product of Slavery — 
Money and Matrimony — Character a Secondary Consideration — Unhappy 
Unions — Commercial Bondage — Where Criminals Are Born — Poverty and 
Crime — Environment and Crime — Commercialism and Vice — Scene in a 
Sweat Shop — A Struggle for Existence — Shop Girls as Wives and Mothers. 

XXL— HEREDITY AND INTEMPERANCE 310—332 

King Alcohol — More Cruel Than War — Basis of Reckoning — Chief 
Cause of Hard Times — Annual Cost of Narcotics — Cost of the Liquor 
Trafiic — Revenues Collected — A Conservative Estimate — Liquor vs. Gov- 
ernment Expenses — A Startling Comparison — The Greatest Commercial 
Problem — Poverty and Heredity — The Family of the Inebriate — Intem- 
perance and Poverty — The Poor Man's Bank — Drink and the Labor 
Problem — Intemperance and Crime — Prison Statistics — Parents of 
Criminals — Inebriety Transmitted — Race Degeneracy — Defective Offspring 
from Alcoholics — Temperate vs. Intemperate Parentage — Demme's Observa- 



xvi CONTENTS. 

tions — Alcohol and Prostitution — Parentage of Erring Girls — Prostitution 
Is Hereditary — The Juke Family — The Children of Scarlet Women — 
Evidence of Transmitted Inebriety — A Struggle with a Demon — Tobacco 
Fed the Python — A Minister's Experience — The Appetite for Narcotics 
Inborn — A Young Lady Uses Tobacco — A Child Drunkard — The Daughter 
of a Sporting Man — Varied Effects of Alcoholism — The Children of a 
Hard Drinker — Morphine, Opium and Nicotine — Delerium Tremens — 
Tobacco Restricts the Mind — Cigarette Smokers — Pathological Effects of 
Tobacco — Hereditary Effects of Tobacco — Children of Tobacco Users — 
Alcoholics in Epidemics — The Disgrace of Intemperance — Liquor Drinking 
a Crime — A Base Inconsistency— A Man's Plain Duty — Sequel to a 
Father's Intemperance — Personal Liberty — The Social Organism — The 
Consequences of Drink — Before the Judge of the Nations. 

XXIL— HEREDITY AND THE DOUBLE STANDARD 333—344 

Social Ethics Abnormal — Origin of the Double Standard — Woman's 
Crowning Virtue — "Keep Thyself Pure" — The Command of God — "A White 
Life for Two" — Man's Unjust Demand — Two Codes of Morals — Society's 
Biased Verdict — The Double Standard Reversed — An Untenable Proposi- 
tion — The Crying Need of the Hour — Obey More to Enjoy More — Chivalry 
Is Not Dead — Love the Great Reformer — Inspiration of a Pure Life — 
Woman's Greatest Mistake — Reformed Men as Husbands — The Union of 
the Perverted — Children of Reformed Men — Martial Ethics Demoralizing 
— The License of Marriage — A Fact for Parents to Consider — Custom Is 
Not Law — The Law of Chastity Is Right — Temperance Increases Happi- 
ness — Preaching and Practicing — The Coming Civilization — A Personal 
Invitation — Come With Me. 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

God said, "Let there be light." Sublime com- 
mand! Matchless conception! Infinite wisdom! 
Only He who gave the command and watched the H^T hcrc ** 
radiating effulgence rush through the seas of 
quivering ether to burst in resplendent glory on 
a million worlds; who saw the light dispel the 
darkness until beauty flashed across the star-lit 
dome ; who felt inanimate nature become animate 
and throb with myriad forms of life; who heard 
the seas and mountains echo with shouts of joy 
and songs of praise ; only He can comprehend its 
meaning or know its achievements ! 

Light is essential to life. Generally speaking, 
where darkness reigns there death reigns also. 
This law is universal; it is manifest alike in the The Power of 
realm of the physical, the intellectual and the 
spiritual. Throughout all nature in proportion 
as there is light, there is life and growth. Where 
the days are longest and the nights shortest, 
there life is most abundant and growth is most 
luxuriant. 

Truth is the light of the mind. It is the essence The Light of 
of knowledge, the basis of reason, the guide to Truth. 



1 8 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

philosophy, the champion of progress; it is the 
power that moves the world forward. As all 
forms of life are dependent upon the solar rays 
for their existence, so the intellect of man must 
have the light of truth if it is to develop. The 
mental life and growth of man in any direction is 
but the measure of his cognizance and applica- 
tion of truth. 

The Holy Spirit is the light of the soul. With- 
out this light there is no spiritual life nor spiritual 

the Spirit growth. In proportion as man receives and re- 

flects the Holy Spirit does he grow spiritually. 
Christ said, "I am the light of the world." This 
"true light/' radiating from Golgotha's cross 
shed its golden beams of glory through the dark- 
ness of pagan idolatry, and our Christian civiliza- 
tion with all its splendid achievements is the 
result. 

As "a quiver from the eternal sun smote 
the earth and life throbbed in the heart, and 

The Light of beauty flashed in a formless world," as Jesus 
Christ darting into the arena of moral darkness, 
dispelled the superstition of the ages, gave birth 
to a new era, quickened the consciences of men 
and created in them a life all but Divine so the 
light of science is fast penetrating the hidden 
mysteries of nature and transforming them into 
living truths of priceless value. 

The twentieth century is to be the century of 
science. Long before it has passed into history 

The Twentieth a jj ii nes f industry, commerce, government and 
even religion will have been brought to the plane 
of natural law. Turn whichever way we may, 
there comes the demand for definite knowledge, 



INTRODUCTION. . 19 

invariable rule and infallible principle. Never 
in the history of the world was this demand so 
strong. Never before was man so willing to "put 
away childish things," and exchange his time- 
honored beliefs and poetic superstitions for plain 
facts and demonstrable truths. The century that 
has just passed into history witnessed great ad- 
vancement and marvelous achievements in the 
physical sciences; but the century, in the dewy 
morning of which we live, will witness much 
greater achievements and more marvelous results 
in the realm of the psychical and spiritual. 

The Science of the Soul is to be the science of 
the future. Already the best minds of the age 
are turning from the physical to the metaphysi- *j*ne Science of 
cal; from the study of matter to the study of the Future. 
mind; from the anatomy of the universe to its 
psychology. Men are coming to recognize that 
"the proper study of mankind is man." Within 
the last few years every branch of anthropology 
has received a new impetus. Archaeology has 
unearthed relics of a prehistoric civilization ; eth- j^J^ u y c 
nology has received a new classification, while 
sociology, once the dream of the idealist, is now 
a practical science, commanding the attention of 
all classes of men. The secrets of the Mystics 
and the occult philosophy of ancient Egypt are 
being studied in the light of the new psychology, 
revealing to us the laws and powers of the soul. 
The Christian religion is no longer a matter of 
faith alone, but one of knowledge. All of 
Christ's teachings relative to the soul can now be 
scientifically demonstrated. 

The new psychology, based upon the physiol- 



20 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

ogy of the brain and the demonstrable powers of 
the subjective mind, is fast taking the place of 
the speculative philosophy of pedagogy, and af- 
fords not only a definite science of mind, but re- 
Heredity is a liable methods for brain building and soul 
Science, growth. Heredity is no longer a myth of the 

nursery or a theory to account for certain phe- 
nomena in nature, but an established fact; a 
science that needs only to be studied and applied 
in the light of the new psychology to make it a 
most potent factor in solving the problems of 
human progress and redeeming the race from 
vice and crime. 

Within half a century the study of heredity 
and psychology will have revolutionised our 
methods of teaching, juvenile government, crimi- 
nal law, sociology and religion. 

The purpose of the present treatise is : ( i ) 
to reduce the known laws and facts of heredity 
Objects in View, to a definite science and give a concise statement 
of its several factors ; ( 2 ) to explain the relation 
of heredity to the physical, mental and moral life 
of man, and indicate the power of prenatal influ- 
ences for good or evil ; (3) to show how the great 
social evils of the country exert an ante-natal in- 
fluence upon children and produce in them nat- 
ural tendencies toward vice and crime; (4) to 
explain heredity and prenatal culture in the light 
of the new psychology and the facts of maternal 
A Child fL' u i m P ress i° ns > an d offer such suggestions as will 
'enable parents to apply these laws to the im- 
provement of their offspring; (5) to give such 
directions for physical culture, brain building and 
soul growth as are calculated to enable parents 



INTRODUCTION. . 21 

to endow each child with a good physical con- 
stitution, a well formed brain, a mind hungry 
for knowledge and a soul imbued with the princi- 
ples of morality; so that in its birth they may 
give to the world a child of light. 

In order to present with any degree of practi- 
cability the many factors of heredity in a single 
volume, I shall have to omit the theoretical and Theories!? 
speculative phases of the subject and confine each 
paragraph to a concise statement of a fact or law ; 
referring the reader, from time to time, to such 
works as give a more extensive presentation of 
the subject under consideration. 

We shall study heredity, largely from the psy- 
chological point of view, touching the physio- 
logical in a general way only, and the patho- The View Point. 
logical but incidentally. As this work is intended 
for the general reader rather than the scientist, 
all technicalities will be purposely avoided and 
an effort made to faithfully express the facts of 
science in the language of the people. 

In presenting the subject of heredity I have 
no pet theories to sustain. My plan is to recite 
facts and let others draw conclusions. The facts Q ata p rom 
used are taken largely from personal observations Personal 
and experiments. In gathering the material for 
this work I have personally visited all the princi- 
pal cities of America except Quebec and those 
of the Gulf States ; have consulted with hundreds 
of educators, physicians, prison wardens, chiefs 
of police, superintendents of reformatories, or- 
phanages and insane asylums and have made care- 
ful comparison of the facts and statistics obtained. 
I have examined the psychology and heredity of 



22 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

several thousand persons, including some five 
thousand convicts, over one thousand homicides, 
and nearly two thousand epileptics, feeble minded 
and insane patients. I have also made a careful 
study of a great number of children and com- 
pared their hereditary tendencies with those of 
their parents and the existing parental states prior 
to the birth of each child. Many of these little 
folks were exceptionally well born; others were 
the product of outraged nature and manifested 
vicious or criminal tendencies before the age of 
ten. In hundreds of instances I have been able 
to get from the parents, or family physician, a 
detailed account of the prenatal conditions under 
which the child was born. 

Many thoughtful parents have studied and ap- 
plied heredity with excellent results. A number 

Studies in Pre- have told me the story of a beautiful maternity, 
natal Cwltur e. * , r , , . . . < 

and the careful ante-natal training given to their 

superior child. Others who had willfully or ig- 
norantly committed vicious or criminal acts prior 
to the birth of their unfortunate children have 
confessed their mistakes, thereby giving me a 
splendid opportunity for studying the effects of 
both good and evil prenatal influences. Again, 
speaking on this subject almost every week for 
twelve years to large, cultured audiences, at the 
Chautauquas and in the principal cities through- 
out the country, has subjected my thought to the 
most varied and liberal criticism and enabled me 
to gather much valuable data, otherwise unob- 
tainable. 

In addition to my own observations I have, 
with the aid of my assistants, reviewed every meri- 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

torious work on heredity and kindred subjects 
published in the English language. I have had Authorities 
the advantage of the libraries of Chicago, Bos- Consulted, 
ton, New York, and the Medical and Congres- 
sional libraries of Washington, D. C. The facts 
and statistics used have been compiled from per- 
sonal observations and a careful comparison of 
the most authentic statistics available. The for- 
mer may be depended upon, the latter are the best 
obtainable. 

Just here, it is proper to say, that we have no 
absolutely reliable statistics that cover all of the 
United States. Many states have no enforced 
registration of births, deaths, pauperism, vice, 
insanity, or crime. Therefore most so-called au- 
thentic statistics are but estimations based upon 
limited observations and are not infrequently 
highly conflicting. 

The study of heredity, according to the Bible, 
is as old as civilization. Writers of both the 
Old and the New Testament scriptures every--,, 
where recognized the potentiality of heredity. Ages. 
This is obvious from their frequent references 
to the inherited superiority of certain families 
and the necessity of one's being a lineal descend- 
ant of Abraham, if he was to lay any just claim 
to greatness. Not only did the ancient Hebrews 
place special emphasis upon the importance of 
being born of the seed of Abraham, but they un- 
questionably understood and practiced the law of 
selection and prenatal culture. The application 
of the latter is very plainly set forth in the story a n/Heredity7 
of Jacob dealing with the flocks of Laban, Genesis 
xxx. In Numbers xiv:i8 we are told that "The 



24 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Ishmael. 



Lord is long suffering and of great mercy, for- 
giving iniquity and transgression and by no means 
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the 
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation." The old proverb that says, "The 
fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's 
teeth are set on edge," had a wide application 
in Hebrew lore. The story of Ishmael, the child 
of the bond-woman, who turned out to be a bad 
man, the founder of the Ishmaelites, "whose hand 
was against every man," is well known to all 
students of the Scriptures. History tells us that 
the notorious wandering Bedouins of the plain, 
are the lineal descendants of Ishmael. It is a fact 
worthy of note that "Ishmael" is the name of 
the largest criminal family in America. 

According to secular history Aristotle, who was 
born 384 B. C, was the first to discover and clas- 
sify the laws of heredity. By experimenting with 
plants and animals, he demonstrated certain laws 
applicable to the human family. From his time 
the subject seems to have commanded the atten- 
tion of philosophers and reformers, until it finally 
gained expression in the laws and customs of the 
people. 

The Roman mothers were, by a law of the na- 
tion, surrounded by examples of strength, heroism 
Heredity Applied an d purity so that these qualities might be trans- 
mitted and become the birthright of children. To 
be a Roman mother was an honor, special hom- 
age was paid her, even on the street and at the 
arena. This sense of freedom and superiority 
she gave to her child. The young Roman thus 
inherited that love of liberty and power which 



Aristotle's 
Studies. 



in Rome* 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

in its aggregation made Rome mistress of the 
world. Later on, when capital had consolidated 
in high places, Roman society no longer recog- 
nized the sacredness of wedlock nor the sanctity 
of maternity. Dissipation reigned in high places, 
children received an unfortunate inheritance and 
the nation was thereby robbed of its physical 
strength, mental vigor, moral courage and social 
purity. Rome fell, because depravity had shorn 
the nation of its strength. 

Various methods have been suggested, from 
time to time, for the application of the laws of 

heredity to the improvement of the human family. 

. . . Plato's Plans of 

Plato in his "Republic" proposed certain arrange- "Wisdom. 

ments for marriage and the bringing up of chil- 
dren intended to improve the race. Among other 
things he forbade the use of wine by the newly 
married, and required that the best of either sex 
should be united with the best as often, and the 
inferior with the inferior as seldom, as possible. 
Plato's idea was carried into practice by Lycurgus 
in his government of Sparta. Lycurgus consid- 
ered children not so much the property of the 
parents as of the State; and, therefore, he could 
not have them begotten of ordinary persons, but 
by the best men in it. He instituted laws calcu- 
lated to favor the selection of the best and the 
rejection of the inferior. 

At present we have but little legislation that 
bears directly upon heredity, nevertheless there f Heredity, 
is widespread and rapidly increasing interest in 
the subject; not only among biologists but among 
the laity as well. The able contributions of Dar- 
win, Wallace, Tyndall, Huxley, Spencer, Brooks, 



26 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

McCosh, Fowler, Drummond, Ribot, Weismann, 
Cowan, Dugdale, Galton, and a score of others 
whose names are familiar to the reading public, 
have made the study of heredity the common 
property of the people and brought to light an 
array of facts that need only to be formulated 
into a definite system and practically applied to 
be of incalculable value to the race. 

The fact of heredity is universally admitted; 
it is self-evident. To deny it would be to deny 

Truth. VI n existence. All there is of a man, in both his 
physical and mental constitution, whether rudi- 
mentary or fully developed at birth, constitutes his 
heredity. 

The term "heredity," however, is used by many 
in a more restricted sense and made to include 

Why Thinkers on |y those special peculiarities of body or mind 
that offspring are supposed to derive from their 
immediate parents. When used in this restricted 
sense, authorities are not fully agreed as to just 
how far the peculiarities of the parent, especially 
their acquired characters, may effect the offspring ; 
some have denied even the possibility of parents 
being able to influence the offspring in the least. 
This extreme ground, however, has been taken 
only by those who, according to their theory, 
could not see how the transmission of acquired 
characters was possible; it certainly never has 
been advocated by any unbiased, close observer 
of the facts of nature. 

All nature attests that the mental and tempera- 
mental peculiarities of each individual, that dif- 

Peculiarities are ferentiate him from all others and largely deter- 
mine his possibilities in life are inborn. Morri- 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

son says, "The result of all recent research points 
to the conclusion that human beings are born into 
the world with a distinct bent of temperament and 
character which will always manifest itself in 
some form, no matter what process of training 
the individual is called upon to undergo." 

Mercier in "Sanity and Insanity" observes : 
"Every man is the outcome and product of his 
ancestry; this is true not only of the broad f un_ Mercier 
damental characteristics by which he is animal, 
by which he is human, by which he is national, 
by which he betrays the country and family from 
which he proceeds, but extends to the trivial and 
minutely trivial characteristics by which he is dis- 
tinguished from other individuals of his own race, 
country and family." 

Physical and mental peculiarities are often fully 
as strongly marked in young children before there 
has been time for the force of environment to 
modify materially their characters, as among 
adults, proving conclusively that they are inborn. 
Again, where the environments have been the S ^^^^^ 
same, the differences in the dispositions, tastes, 
talents and moral tendencies are often quite as 
marked as among children of different families 
surrounded by substantially different environ- 
ments. Surroundings and education do not 
wholly control the character, so potential are the 
inborn traits that it is absolutely impossible to 
produce two characters strikingly alike solely by 
the force of environment. 

All are familiar with the variety of talent and 
peculiarities of mind displayed in the primary 
grades of school. One pupil is apt in arithmetic, 



28 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

but masters spelling or grammar with difficulty. 
Another excels in history or the languages, but 
is poor in arithmetic. Occasionally there is a 
pupil that seems equally apt in all studies. Again, 

Mentality of some are unable to learn from the printed page, 
yet learn rapidly from oral explanation. Others 
are lost in a book and any assistance offered is 
an interference. Some little minds are like a 
flashlight photographic instrument; they grasp 
a thought instantly, know all they know in a 
minute, can get a lesson in one half the allotted 
time, and not infrequently forget it quite as easily. 
Others are like an old fashioned time camera, 
that has to stand a while on each subject to pro- 
duce an impression; such seem dull of compre- 
hension simply because they are slow, yet they 
often become good scholars and retain their 
knowledge to a ripe old age. These variations in 
intellect are inborn and can not be attributed to 
environment. 

What is true of the intellectual powers and 
talents of children is equally true of all their 

ChifdLif S in tIle energies, emotions, feelings and sentiments. Some 
are by nature tame, inactive, cautious and tender 
hearted; others are aggressive, selfish, cruel, tak- 
ing a delight in torturing and killing. Some are 
loving, sympathetic and obliging, others are cold 
and indifferent. Some are direct, honest and 
loyal; others are sly, tricky and deceitful. One 
child in a family will be neat and orderly, an- 
other slovenly and careless; one will be respect- 
ful and reverential, while another evinces no rev- 
erence for God or man. Again, one boy in a fam- 
ily will take delight in the use of tools, another 



INTRODUCTION. 29 

will read continually, while a third dislikes both 
books and mechanics, but has a commercial turn 
of mind. These and similar mental phenomena 
observable in the child life indicate that the hered- 
ity determines the natural bent of every man. 

All history, both sacred and profane, bears wit- 
ness to the potency of heredity. Special genius 
for war, crime, cunning, commerce, mechanism, 
science, literature, art, music, morals or religious Hereditary. 
fervor, has characterized almost every person 
whose name appears in history. Moreover, the 
special genius is often transmitted for several 
generations, as in the case of the Adamses, the 
Beechers or the Fultons. Lombroso in "The 
Man of Genius," says, "Genius is most often he- 
reditary in musicians and artists. Beethoven's 
father and grandfather were both musicians. Lombros's 
Mendelssohn's family contained several musicians 
of note. The Bach family presents a fine example 
of mental heredity. It began in 1550 and passed 
through eight generations. During two centuries 
this family produced many musicians of high 
rank. They were all organists or church singers. 
When they became too numerous to live together 
they agreed to reunite on a fixed day once a year. 
This custom was preserved up to the middle of 
the eighteenth century and sometimes one hun- 
dred and twenty persons by the name of Bach 
met at the same place. Fetis counts among them 
twenty-nine musicians of eminence." 

Galton estimates that "the chances of the sons 
of eminent fathers becoming themselves eminent Galton on 
are shown to be in the case of literary men 5iGenLs. afy 
per cent, men of science 60 per cent, poets 45 



3Q 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Morbid 
Heredity. 



Statistics on 

Criminal 

Heredity* 



per cent, painters and musicians 89 per cent. In 
the average family the chances are about one 
hundredth part of one per cent, or one in ten 
thousand/' 

Nowhere is the fact of heredity and the influ- 
ence of maternal impressions more fully demon- 
strated than in the transmission of hereditary 
or acquired morbid conditions. A genius for 
vice or crime is as inheritable as a taste for music, 
mechanism or art. Abnormal instincts run 
through families. The reader is doubtless famil- 
iar with the history of the notorious outlaws, the 
James boys, the Younger brothers, and the Dal- 
tons, all of whom were related. From Max 
Jukes, a great drunkard, there descended in 75 
years 200 thieves and murderers, 285 invalids 
attacked by blindness, idiocy or consumption, 90 
prostitutes and 300 children who died prema- 
turely. The various members of this family cost 
the state of New York more than a million dol- 
lars. Of 233 prisoners at Auburn, New York, 
23 per cent were of insane or epileptic stock. Vir- 
gilio found that 195 out of 266 criminals were 
affected by hereditary diseases, while Marro found 
morbid inheritance in JJ per cent. Sichard ex- 
amined almost 4,000 German criminals, in the 
prison of which he is director, and found an in- 
sane, epileptic, suicidal or alcoholic hereditary 
taint in 36.8 per cent. Prussian statistics for 
1877 show that among 10,676 lunatics morbid 
heredity may be traced in 6,369. Penta found 
that among 184 criminals only 4 to 5 per cent 
were quite healthy. Charles Marcier, M. B., says 
that "20 per cent of the patients admitted to the 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

insane asylums have other members of their fam- 
ily who are insane." Ribot says, "Every work 
on insanity is a plea for heredity." 

According to Maudsley, "More than one- fourth 
and less than one-half of all insanity is heredi- 
tary." In 73 cases given by Trelat 43 are rep- 
resented as due to heredity. A report made to D^kfctionl 
the French government shows that of 1,000 in- 
sane persons of each sex admitted to the asylum 
264 males and 266 females had inherited insan- 
ity. Carefully compiled and compared statistics 
from all parts of the United States indicate that 
about 45 per cent of our insane, 70 per cent of 
our criminals, 75 per cent of our prostitutes, 80 
per cent of the feeble-minded, and 95 per cent 
of the epileptics were born from drunken, neurotic 
or criminal stock or were the product of bad 
maternal impressions, about one-third being due 
to this latter cause. 

Heredity has been studied and its laws applied 

to the improvement of plant and animal life for 

centuries. Flowers, fruits and vegetables have Heredity in 
, , , t , . . . ,. , Plant and 

been doubled in size, quantity, quality and variety Animal Life. 

within the last century. Domestic animals of 
all kinds have been enlarged and improved in 
shape and quality. The bovine of the plain has 
lost his crooked back and crooked limb to be- 
come a thing of beauty. The wild boar with 
his hump back, long snout and savage nature has 
been replaced by the good natured grunter of 
the barnyard, or the performing pig of the cir- 
cus. Nor is this improvement in the animal lim- 
ited to form and size, to quality and appearance; 
it is quite as marked in brain development and 



32 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

aptitude for learning. All animal trainers agree 
that progeny of trained animals learn much more 
readily than do those of the untrained. The ac- 
quired character of the setter, the pointer, the 
watch dog, the foxhound or bloodhound has 
become so fixed as to be instinctive in the young. 
What is applied to animals is denied to man. 
How strange, how unfortunate it is, when the 
laws of heredity are generally understood and 
applied to the lower animals, that so little ap- 
plication of them has been made to the improve- 
ment of man! We have great stock shows and 
stock journals all over the country; we visit for- 

rf Blind SaSw!^^ 11 countr i es an d P a Y fabulous prices that we 
may improve our herds ; but when we would bring 
a child into existence — a human being that is to 
partake of our nature, our weaknesses of body 
and mind, our virtues and vices; a being that 
is to become a member of society and exert an 
influence for good or evil as long as the pendu- 
lum of time continues to vibrate ; a being endowed 
with an immortal soul, that must some day stand 
at the judgment bar of God and give account 
for the deeds done in the body; when we would 
be the cause of such a being as this coming into 
existence — we too often shut our eyes to the 
light of science, close our ears to the voice of 
wisdom and turn this most divine function over 
to perverted impulse or blind chance! 

Comparatively few children are well born. It 
is safe to say that less than one-fourth are as 
well born as they could be, if the laws of here- 
dity and prenatal culture were better understood 
and put into practice. By the abuse of these 



INTRODUCTION. . 33 

laws many excellent parents, who are strong of 
body and sound of mind, have very inferior chil- 
dren; while thousands through ignorance or wil-^J r jC* liWfenarc 
ful outrage of nature's laws give to their off- 
spring an inheritance that makes vice and crime 
natural and virtue a thing to be acquired. 

The study of heredity lies at the foundation 
of all reform. More and more does it become 
apparent to students of sociology that these laws The True Basis 
must be practically applied before the problems of ° a e orm# 
intemperance, vice and crime can be solved and 
a high moral standard for the masses attained. 
Frances Willard once said, "If man is to over- 
come the evils of intemperance, children must be 
better born." 

If it is possible to mold or even influence the 
physical, mental and moral character of a child 
before it sees the light of day, then this molding 
should be done in such a way as to give to its 
nature the most desirable qualities possible. If 
education is a factor in brain building and 
mental development, then education should be- 
gin when the brain is forming. If environ- 
ment molds character, then the environ- Prenatal versus 
ments that obtain during the formative period Twining, 
of a life are the most potential for good or 
evil. If the principles of virtue and morality 
can be instilled into a nature and made a part 
of its conscious will, then the earlier the instilla- 
tion is begun the more completely will these prin- 
ciples control the life. If vicious and criminal 
tendencies can be produced by evil impressions 
made upon the mature mind and established brain 
centers, how much more determinate must be such 



34 "A CHILD OF LIGHT, 

impressions when made upon the plastic mind 
and forming brain! If reformation through 
good influences and the grace of God is possible 
in a nature that has long been distorted by sin, 
how much more effectual must be these influ- 
ences when brought to bear upon a forming soul ! 
It is during the prenatal period of a life that 
education, home influences and the grace of God 
do their most effectual work in the formation of 
character. 



CHAPTER II. 

SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 

All great truths have had to struggle for rec- 
ognition. The story of the crucifixion is typical 
of all history. Every sublime fact that now helps 
to form the galaxy of law, science and religion 
has been crucified by ignorance, buried by estab- 
lished custom and compelled to rise against popu- 
lar prejudice. Heredity forms no exception to 
the rule. 

Three general causes tend to retard a popular 
interest in and a general acceptance of the doc- 
trine of heredity. ( i ) The public has been edu- 
cated to look upon environment, education and 
religion as the all-controlling factors in the pro- 
duction of mind and the formation of character; 
hence heredity is not deemed essential. (2) It 
is generally, but erroneously, supposed that to Why Objections 
admit of prefixed tendencies partly relieves man are 
from moral responsibility ; such a supposition con- 
flicts with our religious training and ideas of jus- 
tice. (3) The abuse of the plea of insanity in 
criminal courts and the frequent acquittal of mon- 
eyed rascals on the ground of unsound mind, 
morbid tendencies, degeneracy, dipsomania, atav- 
ism, etc., has greatly prejudiced the public mind. 
Heredity has been made synonymous with fatal- 
ism, feeble-mindedness, insanity and crime. Any 
morbid condition is considered a case of heredity, 



36 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

while virtue, genius and morality are attributed 
to postnatal influences. Thus heredity has been 
made a scapegoat, an apology, for all of man's 
shortcomings. It is no wonder it should be 
looked upon with disfavor by those who take this 
false view of the subject. In this chapter I 

£ ff pc-S>at for s ^ a ^ a * m to arr i ye at the true conception of the 
Crime. relation of heredity to postnatal influences in the 

formation of character, and consider some of the 
more plausible objections urged against its ac- 
ceptance. 

Before we proceed to consider these objections 
it will be well for us to get a clear idea of the 
formation and development of a life. Every man 
is the outgrowth of a series of influences. This 
w tt Pod series began with the inception of the primal cell 
of Centuries. (from which the race has been evolved) when 
"God breathed into man the breath of life, and 
man became a living soul." The series includes 
all those processes and influences whereby the 
race has been brought to its present condition. 
Each new life at its inception partakes of the sum 
total of all that has preceded it, and because of 
its dual parentage, has a character unlike any 
other person from the beginning. During em- 
bryonic development it unfolds after the pattern 
given it by its parents, but is continually sub- 
ject to maternal impressions, which further dif- 
ferentiate it from all other human beings. After 
birth it receives impressions intuitively and 
through the five senses and these impressions con- 
tinue to change, develop, form and reform the 
character throughout its entire existence. 

Now, heredity deals with the part of the series 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 37 

of influences that obtains before birth, environ- 
ment, education and religion deal with the part 
that obtains after birth; but there is no break p fe £?fjfj P!as 
in the series, neither should any conflict arise from Influences, 
recognizing the prenatal, as well as the postnatal 
influences. 

Some high in authority have presumed to say 
that one-fourth of a man's mental power, char- 
acter and conduct is due to heredity, three- fourths 
to environment, education and religion. To my 
mind all such attempts to divide the potency ofunknown*** 
the several factors in a man's life are very irra- Quantity, 
tional. For instance, A, B and C are all first 
class mechanics. A inherited but little mechan- 
ical ingenuity, was brought up in a work shop, 
was thoroughly educated in a manual training 
school and became a skilled artisan by training. 
B had considerable natural talent and with fair 
advantages became a skilled artisan. C was a 
natural mechanic, he had but few advantages, 
never attended a manual training school, but by 
the application of his native genius became a 
skilled artisan also. In the case of A the here- 
dity represented but 10 per cent and the train- 
ing 90 per cent; with B 50 per cent was due to 
heredity and 50 per cent to training; while with 
C 90 per cent was due to heredity and 10 per 
cent to training. 

Now this simple illustration applies with equal 
force to vicious or criminal tendencies, to genius, All Factors are 
virtue, or moral worth. All the factors are po- Potential. 
tential in every life, but their degree of influence 
is ever varying, and therefore can not be reduced 
to a mathematical statement. 



38 'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

The same variation in causes obtain in the in- 
dividual life. To illustrate : I had a friend who 
was a skilled mechanic, a good farmer, an able 
and eloquent speaker. His mechanical ingenuity 
was inborn. He was never in a manual training 
school, but was an expert with tools and was 
able to do exceptionally fine work. He had some 
natural ability as a farmer, was brought up on 
Inborn versus a f arm an d made a success at farming. As a 
Acquired Traits, boy he was timid and diffident, could not appear 
before an audience and was sadly deficient in lan- 
guage; but by persistent training and careful 
study he became one of the best extemporaneous 
speakers on the platform. Now, his mechanical 
ingenuity was largely inherited, his success as a 
farmer was perhaps as much due to postnatal 
training as to heredity, while his ability as a pub- 
lic speaker was largely acquired. 

In like manner all of our tastes and talents, 
vices and virtues, are a product of a series of 
E T t has P renata l an d postnatal influences of ever varying 
Many Causes, potency. It is, therefore, irrational to attribute 
one-fourth to heredity, or to attempt to break 
the chain of influences at birth and say that this 
is entirely due to heredity and that is entirely due 
to postnatal influences. 

To simplify the subject, we may divide the 
formative elements of a man's life into three gen- 
Generation, eral divisions — generation, education and regen- 

Education, eration ; or the force of heredity, the force of en- 

Regeneration. . ' J ' 

vironment and the grace of God. Each of these 

three factors has its part to perform in the pro- 
duction, development and maturing of every well 
rounded life. They are incomparable; no one 



'SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 39 

or two can take the place of any other; no one 
can be said to be of greater importance than either 
of the others, for all three are essential to the 
highest development of man. To be well born 
is to receive the greatest gift within the power 
of parentage; to be surrounded by a favorable 
environment and good educational advantages is 
the greatest gift within the power of society; to 
be born again is the gift of God. 

These three factors constitute the triangle, or 
the three sides, of a man's life. His character 
depends upon their uniform strength. A man Man's {Se* * ° 
may be well born, yet from bad environment and 
lack of educational advantages make a complete 
failure in life. He may have excellent educa- 
tional advantages and be surrounded by the best 
of home influences; yet if he did not inherit a 
good brain and the basis of morality his educa- 
tion will amount to but little and the home in- 
fluences may fail to produce a moral character. 
A man may be well born, well educated and 
surrounded by the best of influences, yet if he 
does not know the regenerative power of the 
Holy Spirit, nor has not the love of God in his 
soul, he is not all that a man should be, and 
despite his good inheritance and his educational 
advantages, may come short of the true object 
of life. 

It is customary to estimate a man's ability and 
fitness for a position by his educational advan- 
tages, by the degrees he has taken and the diplo- ^^ False Basis 
mas he has received. Yet all of our professions 
have their share of practitioners who unfortu- 
nately have but little aside from their diplomas 



40 'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

to recommend them. Schools and colleges do not 
make great men, except of those who have native 
genius. Men of mediocrity are failures without 
education, yet succeed with it. Genius may suc- 
ceed without the schools; but certainly it can 
do much better with them. Too much cannot be 
said in favor of thorough schooling and mental 
discipline ; yet as between heredity and education, 
the public places far too much stress upon the 
relative value of education. Heredity fixes the 
natural bent of a mind and its rudimentary pos- 
sibilities; education directs, develops and matures 
the inherited pozvers; the two determine the men- 
tality and possibilities of the man. 

Tendencies toward good or evil are inborn. 
Moral conduct, vice and virtue, like intellectual 
Inborn. Cn cnaes power are the result of several factors, some of 
which are prenatal others are postnatal. We are 
inclined to expect a man to be good or bad, hon- 
est or dishonest according to his early home influ- 
ences and his spiritual awakening. That these 
are great factors in the formation of every char- 
acter is true, but the hereditary tendencies toward 
good and evil are also highly potential. The 
honest, inmost prayer of the mass of intelligent, 
erring humanity to-day is not for more knowl- 
edge of what is right nor for deliverance from 
bad environments, but for the strength and grace 
to overcome their own innate, selfish tendencies 
or vicious desires. 

Another objection to heredity closely allied to 

Moral ^ e one we nave i ust keen considering is that 

Responsibility, the recognition of good and evil tendencies as 

being inborn destroys the sense of moral respon- 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 41 

sibility and opens the way for wholesale wrong 
doing. It is said that if a man is born with 
moral and virtuous tendencies no credit is due 
him for his noble conduct; if born with vicious 
or criminal tendencies, he should not be held re- 
sponsible if he commits crime, and, therefore, 
that it is dangerous to recognize heredity at all. 
Certainly there is danger of placing too little or 
too much stress upon the factor of heredity in 
judging the conduct of a man; but this is equally 
true of all other factors. We can not tell how 
little or how much of a man's morality is due 
to good or evil home influences, how much of 
his success is due to college training or the want 
of it; }^et we do not think of denying the poten- 
tiality of these factors simply because they are 
an unknown quantity. Now, it is quite as irra- 
tional to deny the influences of heredity as to 
deny the influences of the home and the school. 
Heredity is a fact. Men are born with ever 
varying intellectual, social, esthetic and moral 
tendencies; therefore, zve must recognize these 
natural differences if we would be rational in our 
philosophy, or even approach justice in our judg- 
ment. 

Men vary in their innate sense of moral re- 
sponsibility, just as they do in their talent for R ..... 
business, mechanics, science or art. All men, Varies, 
generally speaking, may learn business, mechanics 
or art, yet some learn much- more readily and 
with much more proficiency than others. In like 
manner all men are morally responsible for their 
conduct, but not equally so. 

Man's ability to do right seemingly depends 



42 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

upon three conditions : ( i ) a knowledge of the 
law involved; (2) a desire to do the right or 
obey the law; (3) the self control and will pow- 
er to follow his desire. Jesus Christ, the perfect 

^Rihu^ 17 t0man > born as the ideal of the Father, had a per- 
fect knowledge of all law; had all desire to do 
right, had the freedom and strength of will requi- 
site to enable Him to follow His desires and 
was, therefore, absolutely responsible in the bal- 
ance of morals, for His every act. The unfor- 
tunate man born just a little above the brute, 
with so little intelligence that he does not com- 
prehend the law, with so much of propensity and 
so little of sentiment that he has no desire to do 
right, and so weak in will power that he has 
no control over his gross appetites, is absolutely 
irresponsible for his conduct in the balance of 
morals. Between these two extremes all hu- 
manity is found. The moral responsibility of 
each individual depends upon his position on the 
scale. As there is but one Christ, one absolutely 
responsible character, so there are very few who 
are totally irresponsible. 

The question of the moral responsibility of 
criminals is a vital one, whether considered from 
a legal, a psychological or an ethical point of 
f^C^SnakT view. According to modern biology man is a 
creature of heredity and environment. From 
this point of view the abnormal man is scarcely 
responsible for his crime ; but according to recent 
experiments in psychology the soul — the ego — 
is supreme and is far less subject to inherited or 
acquired tendencies than has generally been sup- 
posed. Whatever there is in the new psychology 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 43 

for the restoration of the criminal, certain it is 
that the average man is controlled largely by 
his brain centers. If these are normal and prop- 
erly trained his will may be said to be free to 
determine his conduct ; but if these are abnormal, 
either through heredity or otherwise, he cannot 
justly be considered a free moral agent. All 
criminologists consider the habitual criminal as 
psychologically abnormal, and therefore only 
partly responsible. Dr. Thompson said : "Ha- 
bitual criminals are without moral sense. Out 
of five hundred murderers that I have known, 
only three of them ever expressed any remorse. " 
7 The number of criminals who are wholly, or 

even largely, irresponsible form but a very small _ ~ . . , 
, 1 1 rr 1 ^ • i, Few Criminals 

per cent of our legal offenders. Occasionally are Blameless. 

there is one whose thirst for blood or mania for 
wrongdoing is so strong that he is positively in- 
capable of self restraint, yet, such a one is rare. 
Fully 92 per cent of our convicts — according to 
their own testimony — were partly or wholly to , 
blame for their conduct. In the United States 
there is one criminal for every 560 of the popu- 
lation. Now, if but 8 per cent of our criminals 
are wholly irresponsible, and there is but one 
criminal to every 560 of the population, it fol- 
lows that there is but one person out of every 
1,800 who is wholly irresponsible. Taking this 
as a basis of reckoning, considering the fact that 
most offenders are largely responsible, also that 
society must be protected from the abnormal man, 
whether he is entirely responsible, partly so, or 
wholly irresponsible, it is certainly best and near- 



44 'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

est to justice to hold all men as morally respon- 
sible for their conduct in the eyes of the law. 

The doctrine of the absolute freedom of the 
human will in all men is without foundation in 
fact. Man is not without his limitations in any 
direction. Man is free to do the best he can, 
yet some are capable of doing much better than 
others. A man should therefore be credited or 
condemned not for what he does or fails to do. 

Ht^Swffl! 16 but for doin £ or failin g to do his best The 
strongest argument in favor of the moral respon- 
sibility of the average man is found in the fact 
that when he does wrong he is conscious that 
he did not have to. The last step in vice or crime 
is often imperative ; the first step is invariably 
one of choice. The responsibility, therefore, is 
to be reckoned not by the final conduct, but by 
the first choice. An inebriate may not be to 
blame for homicide committed while crazed with 
liquor; he is to blame for forming the habit of 
drinking. 

Waving aside all further consideration of man's 
moral responsibility, or the freedom of the human 
will, the fact that concerns us in this connection 
is that man is as responsible morally for con- 
Hereditary duct springing from heredity as from acquired 
Tendencies may tendencies, because both are subject to the control 
of the will if that power is exercised at the ap- 
proach of temptation. The fact that a man has 
a tendency toward mechanics does not necessi- 
tate his becoming a mechanic; it only inclines 
him in that direction and makes it easy for him 
to become a mechanic, but it does not compel him 
to follow mechanics for a livelihood. In like 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 45 

manner, if one has an hereditary tendency toward 
intemperance, theft, cruelty, or even homicide, 
he will be inclined to vice or crime; he may find 
it easy and natural to commit vice or crime, but 
he is not compelled by this hereditary tendency to 
do so; therefore, the fact of heredity does not 
destroy the moral responsibility of man. 

It is frequently urged by those who have de- 
cided upon the limitations of the Divine nature, vmc * ustIce * 
that the doctrine of heredity must not be admit- 
ted, because it destroys the possibilities of Divine 
justice. They say, if it is easier for some to do 
right than for others; if some are so born that 
vice is natural, while others by nature love to 
do right, then where is the justice of God in 
holding all men alike responsible, and thereby 
giving a heaven to the few and a hell to the 
many? Personally I never worry about this 
proposition, for He who gave the law and formed 
the soul can adjust their relations. Moreover, 
there is nothing in Scripture, philosophy or sci- 
ence to indicate that God holds all men alike re- 
sponsible; while there is much to indicate that 
God requires of every man that he shall do the 
best he can and holds him accountable accord- "Who-so-ever 
ing to his ability. ™®* ' 

In this connection it should not be forgotten 
that God has placed His Spirit in the world and 
that "whosoever will" may receive Him and be 
transformed by His power and thereby freed from 
the domination of both hereditary and acquired 
evil tendencies. The acceptance of the Holy 
Spirit is a matter of choice ; therefore he who re- 
fuses God's plan of redemption and continues 



Science. 



46 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

in sin is certainly responsible, and God is but 
just in holding him accountable. 

Christian Scientists oppose heredity. They 

Christian must in order to be consistent with their creed. 

Mary Baker Eddy denies the existence of mat- 
ter, the testimony of the senses, the reality of 
the body and, of course, to admit heredity would 
be inconsistent. She says: "God, Spirit, being 
all, nothing is matter." "It is a false supposi- 
tion, the notion that there is real substance, mat- 
ter." "We define matter as error because it is 
a false claim to life, substance and intelligence. w 
"Heredity is a prolific subject for mortal belief 
to pin theories upon, but if we learn that noth- 
ing is real but the right, we shall have no danger- 
ous inheritances, and fleshly ills will disappear." 
Despite the many good things taught by Mary 
Baker Eddy, her fundamental propositions put 
her creed at variance not only with heredity but 
with all the physical sciences. 

Heredity of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy is said to have been born 
from a most devout, highly spiritual mother, who 
gave her child to God in prayer before it saw 
the light of day. Evidence of this is found in 
the child life of Mrs. Eddy. Her early history 
indicates that she was an exceptionally spiritually 
minded child ; that she early formed the habit of 
earnest prayer and before the age of ten w T as ac- 
customed to going in simple, trusting faith to God 
for everything desired, plainly indicating the 
good effects of her own prenatal training. 

Christian Scientists may well deny the power 
of heredity to control a life that has been made 
free by God's love ; but since they place so much 



Eddy. 



•SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 47 

stress upon the influence of one life over another 
and the outworking of a principle in a soul, they, 
above all others, should accept the fact of pre- /Consistency, 
natal culture. If, as they teach, the good and jewel." 
evil thoughts of one life can affect another, then 
surely the prospective mother can and does mod- 
ify the character of her offspring. How irra- 
tional to speak of evil thought waves, or oppos- 
ing minds influencing the adult life sufficiently 
to cause sickness, error and even death, and then 
to insist that such influences do not affect the 
forming child ! 

Theosophists, especially those who accept the 
teachings of the oriental cult, usually oppose 

heredity because it conflicts in a measure with the Theosophical 

J Objections* 

ancient dogma of reincarnation. The doctrine 

of reincarnation is based largely upon negative 
evidence; it is supported by very little, if any, 
positive evidence. It is an ancient theory insti- 
tuted to account for certain facts and phenomena 
in human life that in the absence of a knowledge 
of heredity and psychic law were inexplicable. 
In our day heredity and psychic law combined ac- 
count for all the phenomena upon which this 
doctrine is based. Even if reincarnation were 
true, the law of heredity would still apply; for 
all theosophists admit that the soul during its 
incarnation is limited in its powers of expres- 
sion, and largely in its development, also by the 
body it inhabits. Now, since the body is con- 
trolled by physical heredity, the theosophists to 
be consistent should acknowledge its potency in 
the formation of a soul and strive to promote 
rather than to retard the study of its laws, so 



48 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

that the soul might have a more fit abiding place, 
a better instrument of expression during its weary 
march on this mundane sphere. 

Some oppose heredity because it places respon- 
Opposition to sibility upon parents and holds them accountable 
Responsibility, (in a measure at least) for the physical constitu- 
tion, mentality and disposition of their offspring. 
When a child is exceptionally bright it is usually 
easy to discover the origin of its intelligence, but 
when one is unfortunately born, parents can sel- 
dom undertsand why it should be so. Self preser- 
vation is a primary law in man's nature, therefore 
it is no wonder that persons given to self indul- 
gence and the abuse of the propensities, should 
oppose the doctrine of heredity. It is much more 
soothing to the conscience, and certainly sounds 
better in society, to attribute the bad inheritance 
of a child to blind chance or "Divine providence" 
than to acknowledge it to be the result of the will- 
ful violation of nature's laws. 

The old idea that God sends all the children in 
a family, few or many, in rapid succession or far 
apart, strong or weak, bright or stupid, good or 

_ f , ,, bad, and preordains their lives has little place in 

Placing the ,.,,., ,, ■ <• i ^-, • *• • 

Blame Upon the minds of the well informed, lhis malicious 

c '°^' doctrine, born of man's selfishness and paraded 

under the cloak of religion has caused thousands 
to be unfortunately born. Suppose we should 
apply the same doctrine to the postnatal develop- 
ment of children, pay no attention to their physical 
welfare, intellectual training or moral develop- 
ment, but just turn the whole matter over to 
Providence and blind chance, what sort of 
children would we raise? The proposition is 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 49 

ridiculous, yet not more so than to leave the origin 
and prenatal development of children to Provi- 
dence and blind chance. 

Parents should realize that they are responsible 
not only for the number and frequency of births, 
but for the physical, mental and moral character 
of their children. When this parental responsi- Responsible, 
bility is more generally accepted children will be 
better born. A young minister recently became 
angry in my lecture room and bolted, making a 
very uncomplimentary remark as he left the 
church. I learned later that seven years before 
he had married a beautiful, strong, noble woman 
who was now confined to her room a physical 
wreck. During her brief married life she had 
given birth to six children; the two eldest were 
strong but very ungovernable, two were puny 
and nervous, and two were stillborn. The rev- 
erend gentleman had undoubtedly entrusted the 
birth of his children and the health of his wife 
to Divine providence ! I was not surprised that he 
opposed the doctrine of heredity and parental 
responsibility. 

The propriety of the free discussion of heredity 
has been questioned by a certain class of good, 
but falsely educated, persons, and made an excuse 
for opposing the whole subject. Surely, such 
persons must have a perverted view of parentage. „ ,. 
As Dr. Cowan beautifully says: "What God, in Proper Study, 
the might of His wisdom and the greatness of His 
love, has created, no man nor woman need be 
ashamed to read, talk of, learn and know; for it 
cannot be that He has ordained it that knowledge 



50 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

so essential to the well-being of mankind can be 
destructive to moral purity." 

Frances Willard once said : "When I was a girl, 
for a woman to know very much about maternity 

Vkws an( ^ heredity was enough to make her morals 

questionable. Now, for the prospective mother 
not to understand these things is known to be 
criminal. What was deemed a vice under the 
artificial light of false modesty, under the true 
light of higher culture has become a virtue." The 
better element of society no longer believes in 
darkness and ignorance as a guide to virtue. All 
are coming to realize that the highest order of 
refinement, the purest virtue and the truest mod- 
esty is most easily attained and sustained by those 
best acquainted with the laws of life. 

In the study of parentage and heredity, we 
should remember that through this sacred func- 
tion immortal lives are born. By its sublime laws 
all the great, gifted and holy men and women 

Divinity is Here. Q £ ^ p agt an( j p resen j- were brought into ex- 
istence. Through these laws God expresses His 
Divine will and stamps His decree upon human 
life. Maternity is the creative office of Divinity,*! 
sacred as humanity is sacred, holy as God is holy. I 
In the contemplation of this subject, shall we be ' 
controlled by a false pride and refuse to study 
these great truths? Shall we, the children of 
light, prefer night rather than day? Shall we at 
the dawn of the Twentieth Century, be bound by 
the chains forged in the Dark Ages? Shall per- 
verted desires blind our eyes to the light of truth ? 
Shall we refuse to worship in the temples of our 
God, because ignorance has defiled the temple? 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 51 

God forbid! Let us rather slip off the sandals 
of mock modesty, uncover the head of foolish 
pride, and remember that we are the temples of the 
Living God; that the place where we now stand 
is holy ground, and that Divinity is here. 



CHAPTER III. 



PSCHOLOGY. 



James* 

K&Heck, 

Ladd. 

Morgan* 

Wundt. 



The student of heredity should understand 
psychology. A knowledge of the modus operandi 
of mind, the powers of the soul, the laws of brain- 
building and soul growth, are essential to the in- 
telligent study of prenatal culture. Assuming 
that some of my readers have not had occasion to 
acquaint themselves with the current psychology, 
I shall devote this and the succeeding chapter to 
the study of man's psychic nature and its relation 
to the brain. 

"Psychology is the science of mental processes." — Prof. 
James. 

"Psychology is a scientific study of the mind." — Prof. 
Halleck. 

"Psychology is the description and explanation of the 
states of consciousness as such." — Prof. Ladd. 

"That which is in your mind at any moment is a state 
of consciousness. Psychology is a study of nature, mode 
of origin and manner of sequence of these states of con- 
sciousness." — Morgan. 

"Psychology has to investigate that which we call inter- 
nal experiences — i. e., our own sensation and feeling, our 
thought and volition — in contradistinction to the objects 
of external experience, which form the subject matter of 
the natural sciences. Man himself, not as he appears from 
without, but as he is in his own immediate experience, is 
the real problem of psychology." — Wundt. 

"Psychology is the science of self (psycho plus logy equals 
soul plus science). But each self is a type of the race and 



PSYCHOLOGY. 53 

stands for humanity. My sensorium and motorium give 
me direct connection with the universe. I have my head- 
quarters for life in my cerebrum. In some unknown wayg^^j^ 
I think, love and decide in and through my cerebral ganglia 
and their connections. I cannot comprehend it ; this knowl- 
edge is too high for me ; but I know that self is generated 
with the body, lives in it, works through it, and leaves it at 
death." — Baldwin. 

Psychology may be defined as the science of 
the soul. In its broadest application it includes 
all the mental phenomena that belong to a senti- Psychology 
ent being. Psychology as used in pedagogy is the 
science of the mind; mind signifying simply the 
sum total of all man's conscious thoughts and 
sensations. Physiological psychology is the 
science of mental processes as related to the 
nervous system. The new psychology as taught 
by students of psychic phenomena, includes both 
of these, together with the science of the subject- 
ive mind. 

The study of metaphysics and mental phe- 
nomena antedates history. How much the ancient 
psychists knew of occult power and psychic law is Jj ta hf 
now a matter of speculation. It would seem, how- 
ever, that they were further advanced in these 
matters than is the present generation. The cur- 
rent psychology is yet in its speculative state. 
Even the most advanced students differ widely in 
their conceptions of the divisions of the mind and 
the nature of the ego. The German school of 
psychology tends strongly toward dualism, the 
English toward monism, while the American 
school is divided between the two. 

The present psychology of pedagogy, or the 
system of mental philosophy used in most Normal 



54 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



School-room 
Psychology. 



Phrenology. 



Gall's 
Philosophy. 



Weak Points of 
Phrenology. 



schools, can hardly be called a science. It gives 
an indefinite theoretical explanation of the several 
powers of mind, such as sense-perception, reten- 
tion, the will, volition, etc., but affords no explana- 
tion whatever of the peculiarities of the individual, 
and is, therefore, all but worthless as a basis of 
education. 

The Gall system of psychology, known as 
phrenology, is a system of mental philosophy 
based upon the physiology of the brain. Its funda- 
mental teachings are : ( i ) The brain is the organ, 
or instrument, of mind. (2) Each primary ele- 
ment of mind has its specific center in the brain. 
(3) The strength of each element of mind is 
determined by the size, activity or functional 
power of its brain center. (4) All elements of 
mind are strengthened by use and weakened by 
disuse. (5) The normal manifestations of all 
primary propensities, feelings, faculties and senti- 
ments are good, but all are subject to perversion 
and abuse. 

Gall's system of mental philosophy, when 
divorced from cranial development and cerebral 
localization, contains the groundwork of the 
psychology of the future. It furnishes by far the 
best explanation of the phenomena of mind and 
the peculiarities of the individual that has yet 
been presented. It fell into disrepute and failed 
to reach the colleges largely from two causes: 
( 1 ) Gall and his successors assumed too much in 
regard to the divisions of the mind and cerebral 
localization that was not susceptible to scientific 
demonstration; (2) The possibility of applying 
the system to the art of reading character gave it 



PSYCHOLOGY. 55 

a commercial value that placed its dissemination 

largely in the hands of men who knew more about 

examining heads and collecting fees than they did 

of mental philosophy or the physiology of the 

brain. 

Physiological psychology is defined by Prof. 

Ladd as: "The science of the phenomena of the 

human consciousness in their relations to the Pkyrfologicai 

Psychology* 
structure and functions of the nervous system. 

It is psychology because it is the science of the 
human mind, or soul ; it is physiological psychol- 
ogy because it regards the mind as standing in 
peculiar relations to the bodily mechanism. It 
attempts to bring the two orders of phenomena, 
those called mental and those belonging to the 
nervous system, face to face. It considers them 
as mutually related. It endeavors, as far as pos- 
sible, to unite them in terms of a uniform char- 
acter, under law. Its method is to explain the 
phenomena of man's sentient life as correlated 
with the life and growth and action, under stimuli, 
of his nervous system." 

Physiological psychology deals exclusively 
with the relation of nerve function to sensation 

and mental phenomena. It has to do with the last ¥l *l* of InvestI ~ 
. gation. 

series of physical phenomena before we pass into 
the realm of purely psychic phenomena. It con- 
siders the stream of consciousness the manifest 
function of the brain; or that the psychic life con- 
sists of a series of conscious states connected with 
physical states that begin with sensation and end 
with action. According to Francis Galton, "The 

field of physiological psychology embraces:,, 

a 4.' a • i.- * j j. -i j j. j r Views of Galton. 

reflex action and instincts ; detailed study of sen- 



56 



'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Experimental 
Stage or 
Psychology. 



Facts of 

Physiological 

Psychology. 



Nerve Action 

Determines 

Sensation. 



sation, with questions relative to time and space 
in the limits of experiment, movement, modes of 
expression and language; the conditions of the 
will and attention ; the forms of the more complex 
feelings in their relation to the nervous system." 

Physiological psychology is yet in its experi- 
mental stage. Despite the fact that it is being 
taught in all of our colleges and universities, it 
would be difficult to find two authors or instruct- 
ors who are fully agreed. Even a casual com- 
parison of the writings of James, Titchener, Her- 
bart, Wesley, Mills, Romanes, Morgan, Baldwin, 
Gross, Kuelpe, Ladd, or Wundt reveals a great 
diversity of opinion, and leaves the student far 
from any definite conception of mind. 

Notwithstanding the diverstiy of opinion held 
by physiological psychologists, they are substan- 
tially agreed upon certain very important proposi- 
tions, chief among which are: (i) All sensation 
and conscious mentation are related to and 
dependent upon nerve action. (2) Sensation, 
consciousness and the power of mind in any given 
direction is determined by the functional power 
of the nerves and brain areas through which they 
are manifested, and the degree of stimulus. (3) 
Stimuli passing from the sense organs through 
the afferent or sensory nerves are transformed in 
the brain and transmitted over to the efferent, or 
motor nerves, resulting in action. (4) Repeated 
sensations, emotions or thoughts tend to establish 
nerve paths and fixed combinations in the cortical 
structure of the brain so that a like stimulus will 
flash over the established paths, discharge through 
the same efferent nerves and thereby reproduce 



PSYCHOLOGY. 57 

the mental image, action or conduct that produced 
the nerve path. (5) All definite perceptions, 
mental images, repeated sensations and thought 
forms have a physical basis in the cortical struc- ^yr IcaI Basss 
ture of the brain and may be reproduced in the 
form of memories either by external stimulus or 
by the retracing of nerve paths and the co-ordina- 
tion of associated centers. 

Physiological psychology adds nothing to 
mental philosophy. It explains the relation of the 
nervous system to objective consciousness and Limitations of 
demonstrates the dependence of the latter upon Psychology? 
the former. As a basis of brain building, educa- 
tion and character forming it is of incalculable 
value. When applied to its legitimate sphere, too 
much cannot be said in its favor. But when a 
physiological psychologist presumes to say that all 
mental phenomena and psychic power are the 
product of cerebration, his teachings become not 
only dangerous, but non-scientific. Prof. James 
aptly says : "It is obvious that our knowledge of James, 
our mental states infinitely exceeds our knowledge 
of their concomitant cerebral conditions. Our 
assumption that mind states are absolutely 
dependent upon brain conditions, must still be 
understood as a mere postulate. We may have a 
general faith that it must be true, but any exact 
insight as to how it is true, lags wofully behind. ,, 

Within the last quarter of a century the study The New 
of psychic phenomena has developed what is Psychology, 
known as the New Psychology. Hindu philoso- 
phy, theosophy, Christian science, mental science, 
hypnotism, mental therapeutics and spiritualism, 



^ 



58 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Duality of 

Mind* 



The Objective 
and Subjective 

Minds. 



Subjective 
Perception* 



have each added something of fact or phenomenon 
to the development of this science of the soul. 

The new psychology has demonstrated many 
very important facts relative to the powers of the 
soul, chief among which are: (i) Man is en- 
dowed with two minds, or the ego has a dual 
manifestation as conscious, or objective, mind, 
and super-conscious, or subjective, mind. (2) 
The objective, or conscious, mind is limited in its 
manifestation by cerebration. It is controlled by 
the functional powers of the brain, through estab- 
lished nerve tracks and brain centers. Its mediums 
of communication with the outer world are the 
five physical senses. (3) The subjective, or super- 
conscious, mind is a form of intelligence that the 
ego manifests independent of the brain and 
nervous system. It is immanent, or in-dwelling, 
but not inherent, or dependent upon the physical 
organism. (4) The subjective mind is more or 
less amenable to control by suggestions from the 
objective mind. It usually acts upon these sug- 
gestions without questioning their correctness 
unless they are opposed by an auto-suggestion or 
an established rule of thought or character. (5) 
The subjective mind has the power to communi- 
cate telepathically with other minds in the absence 
of ordinary physical means. It may take cog- 
nizance of conditions in the realm of both the 
physical and the psychical, independent of the 
objective mind, and under certain conditions may 
transfer these to the plane of consciousness, there- 
by giving the person a conscious knowledge of 
things otherwise unknown or imperceptible to 
the objective mind. (6) As things often exist 



PSYCHOLOGY. 59 

or occur in the realm of the psychical long before 

they do in the physical, the subjective mind may 

take cognizance of them and translate its know- Prophecy. 

ledge to the plane of consciousness, thereby giving 

the power of prophecy. (7) The memory of the 

subjective mind is supposed to be infallible; not 

that all it retains can be consciously recalled, but 

that the ego holds within itself the effects of every subjective 

impression made upon it, whether received sub- Memory. 

jectively or objectively. 

The new psychology reveals much that is con- 
ducive to a better understanding of life and its 
possibilities. It accounts for the occult powers 
of the soul and will yet teach us how to develop u * owefS ' 
and use them. It gives a rational explanation of 
dreams, visions, prophecy, telepathy, mental thera- 
peutics, clairvoyance, clairaudience and all so- 
called "spirit phenomena." It does not attempt 
to define the primary elements of mind nor to 
explain the peculiarities of the individual. Most 
of its advocates have been caught in the mesh of 
speculative mental philosophy and hold therefore 
very indefinite conceptions of the elements of both 
the objective and subjective minds. 

The true psychology, which correctly define the 

primary elements of the mind, the functions of 

the brain, the powers of the soul and explain all 

the facts of man's super-conscious, conscious and 

sub-conscious life, is yet to be written. All the The Psychology 

, , £ 1 1 1 of the Future, 

present systems of psychology are more or less 

fragmentary and conflicting. Yet they all contain 
much that is true. So, without commenting upon 
the merits or demerits of any system, I shall 
endeavor to use the facts of all in a brief explana- 
tion of human nature. 



6o 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Study of 
Man. 



Relations of the 
Psychical and 
Physical 

Natures. 



Man a Psychic 
Organism. 



An Essential to 
Right Thinking. 



What is man? Man, physiologically con- 
sidered, is an organism of bones, muscles, organs, 
nerves, etc., adapted to the performances of the 
several functions of the resident life. Man, 
psychologically, is a soul, a complex, organized, 
individualised ego, developing and expressing 
itself on the earth plane through and by means of 
its physical organism. So long as man is man 
his physical and psychical natures form the com- 
plete counterpart of each other, act and react upon 
each other, limit and modify the expressions of 
each other. Through the physical organism the 
material universe influences and becomes known 
to the psychic man. Through the psychic man 
the physical organism receives transforming im- 
pressions. The dividing line between the two 
natures no man can draw. That man has a 
psychical nature that is superior to and in a sense 
independent of the physical organism is now very 
generally conceded. / state without fear of sue- I 
cessful contradiction that man is primarily a soul. 
Immanent in, but not inherent in the body ; opera- 
tive through, but not dependent upon, the brain 
and nervous system. ___ 

It is not necessary that the reader accept the 
foregoing propositions in order to appreciate what 
I have to say about heredity, brain building and 
soul growth. It is essential, however, that every 
person should realize that he is a soul. Without 
the acceptance of this fact, we have no abiding 
foundaton upon which to build a science of mind, 
a system of education, a moral code or a philoso- 
phy of life. Those who deny the existence of the 
soul and the Immanent God have failed utterly to 



PSYCHOLOGY. 61 

produce even a working hypothesis that would 
account satisfactorily for the phenomena of life 
in any form — much less its highest form, the 
consciousness of man. 

There is an abundance of purely scientific 
evidenec to prove the existence of man as a psychic |^i # enc€S 
ego independent of cerebration and nerve action. 
Some of these evidences may be stated briefly as 
follows. 

i. We know that man is a soul independent of 
the brain because the rudiments of all the powers Mind Without a 
of his subjective mind are present in the lowest 
organisms that have neither brain nor nervous 
system.* 

2. We know that man is a soul because vital 
action is not chemical action. Chemical action Vital versus 
is destructive to an organism ; vital action is con- Chemical 
structive. A vitalized organism has the power 
of transforming other substances into itself; 

*"Unicellular organisms," says Dr. Gates, "possess all the 
different froms of activity to be found in the higher ani- 
mals. Thus the simplest cell can transform food into tissue 
and other metabolic products; and this is the basis of all 
the nutritive activities and processes of the higher animals ; 
the cell can move part of itself and is capable of locomo- 
tion; and this is the basis of all movement in the higher 
animals brought about by bones and muscles. The cell can 
feel a stimulus and respond, and this is the basis of the 
sensory faculties of the higher animals ; the cell can repro- 
duce itself by segmentation, and this is the basis of repro- 
duction in higher animals ; the cell on dividing inherits the 
actual qualities of its parent mass, and this is the basis 
of heredity; in short, the cell contains, in simplest form, 
all of the activities to be found in man." For further con- 
sideration of this proposition see "The Divine Pedigree of 
Man," by Hudson. 



62 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Resident 
Life. 



. 






Heredity 
Demonstrates 

the Soul. 



1 



Psychic 
Impressions. 



chemical combinations have not. The first process 
of digestion may be purely chemical, but the 
second is vital and cannot be duplicated by any 
chemical process. No phenomena of life, beyond 
the first stages of digestion, are explicable upon 
a purely chemical basis. 

3. We know that man is a soul because the 
resident life controls the physical organism. 
Every function and action, voluntary or invol- 
untary, is the manifestation of something that 
lies back of the brain and nervous system. 

4. We know that man is a soul because in the 
process of reproduction, functional potency de- 
termines transmission. The physical organism 
may be mutilated, as in the removal of a hand, 
yet the offspring inherits the perfect hand; but 
if we continue to amputate the member for gen- 
eration after generation, until we destroy the func- 
tion of the hand, it will no longer be transmitted. 
This indicates plainly that soul-form and function, 
not physical organism, determine the heredity, 
and that life inheres in the soul rather than the 
body. 

5. We know that man is a soul because of a 
mother's power to impress the developing embryo. 
There is no anatomical connection between the 
nervous systems of the two, yet it is an established 
fact that the mental states of the mother make 
their impression upon the forming life t© such an 
extent that extreme excitement, unnatural longing 
or a sudden fright may produce abnormalities 
(birthmarks) in her offspring, thus proving con- 
clusively that their psychical natures are not only 



PSYCHOLOGY. 63 

en rapport, but that the psychic controls and has 
the power to form or deform the physical. 

6. We know that man is a soul because the 
subjective mind has the power of independent per- S^ 1 "* 8 of 
ception and mentation. It can take cognizance of 

the physical world, receive impressions from other 
minds telepathically and communicate with other 
subjective minds when the brain is at rest, either in 
natural sleep, in induced coma or when otherwise 
inhibited. 

7. We know that man is a soul because when Proved by 
the subjective mind (which is dependent upon the ypQ0 m# 
brain and nervous system) is controlled by 
hypnotic suggestion and the brain's action inhib- 
ited, the subjective mind and resident life can be 
controlled so as to produce or suspend pain, in- 
duce or overcome physical conditions. 

8. We know that man is a soul because in the 

hour of death when the brain ceases to act and 

the objective consciousness is extinct, the soul's The Soul Rules 

i • , • • 1 • r . 1 in Death* 

consciousness, or subjective mind, is frequently 

most active, expressing in highest ecstacy the joy 

that breaks upon it at the threshold of eternity. 

So marked is this that the distorted features of a 

sufferer are often changed into an angelic smile, 

showing that the soul that formed the body ruled 

it after the physical senses died. 

9. We know that man is a soul because of 
thousands of well authenticated apparitions. Many Job Saw a Spirit 
persons are said to have seen their departed friends 

within a few hours after the death of the body. 
Testimony is not limited to spiritualists, mediums, 
the credulous, the superstitious, the imaginative, 
nor to neurotic persons, but has been given by the 



64 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

cool-headed, critical scientist and by innocent 
children. 

10. We know that man is a soul because every 

sayssa/' highly developed person, whether pagan or 
Christian, anicient or modern, gradually but 
surely becomes conscious of his super-physical 
existence. He is conscious that the I, the ego, is 
something that supercedes the brain, belongs to a 
realm that is not physical and has the power to 
exist as a conscious individuality independent of 
its corporeal home. Socrates is not the only one 
who could triumphantly say, "Bury me ? my body, 
I suppose you mean; give that to the dogs for 
aught I care, but Socrates' soul, and that is Socra- 
tes, goes to be with the gods." 

I deem this consciousness of the soul's inde- 
pendence the highest and strongest proof of its 
existence as a super-physical being. True, not 
all have this consciousness, for not all are suffi- 

Supreme ciently developed to possess it, but this does not 

Evidence. militate against its being the supreme evidence 

that man is a soul. The beauty of the world and 
the pleasure of freedom are not to be decided by 
the testimony of a toad living in a well, but 
rather by the one that has enjoyed the liberty of 

Darkness cannot the g ar< 3en in the sunlight of a June morning. 

Measure the So the powers and possibilities of a soul are 
18 not to be measured by the consciousness of one 

living a contracted, selfish life entombed in ma- 
terialistic beliefs ; but rather by the consciousness 
of those who have been born into the larger 
life and have enjoyed the glorious privileges of 
high intellectual culture and spiritual growth. 
The foregoing propositions are too briefly 



PSYCHOLOGY. 65 

stated to carry the weight of evidence they other- 
wise would. If fully devevloped and carried to 
their ultimate conclusion they are sufficient to Manisa 
justify the former proposition that "man is a 
soul." This point decided, we shall proceed to 
study the manifestations of the soul and its rela- 
tions to the brain and nervous system. 

The soul in its ultimate nature evades analysis. 
We do not know what it is. From what we do 
know it seems to be a distinct, separate entity, 
possessing individuality and personality, which The Soul Evades 
are expressed materially through the physical or- Anal y sis » 
ganism. The soul is triune in its character, or 
rather has three planes of manifestation, present- 
ing three widely different phenomena. In its 
highest expression it presents the phenomena of 
the super-conscious, or subjective, mind. In its 
relation to the brain and nervous system, it is 
manifested as the conscious, or objective, mind. 
In its relation to the physical organism, it be- 
comes sub-conscious life. 

All consciousness is the result of vibrations. 
The five senses are organs adapted to receiving 
vibrations from without and conveying them to 
the seat of consciousness, the brain. Vibrations Consciousness 
passing from the external world to the soul, or p 
from the soul through the brain and nervous sys- 
tem, produce when sufficiently strong a sensation ; 
repeated sensations produce an impulse ; connected 
and consecutive sensations and impulses produce 
feelings, desires and thoughts. Continuous 
thoughts, feelings and desires constitute conscious 
mind. 

Mind, whether conscious or super-conscious, 



66 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Mind is not 
Soul. 



The Brain 



objective or subjective, is not soul, but a product 
of vibration. It is a function of the soul, an 
operation, a process ; but not an entity, not an in- 
dividuality, as is the soul. Mind, soul and body 
bear much the same relations to one another as 
do the message, the electric current and the 
wire. The wire is the medium (body), the elec- 
tric current is the resident force (soul), the mes- 
sage is the product of the vibrations (mind). 

As long as the soul is resident in the body its 
manifestation as conscious mind is determined en- 
^itsthe MincL ^ V ^Y ky the functional power of the several brain 
centers. In other words, objective mind or con- 
sciousness, as we experience it, is dependent upon 
the cerebration. It varies in strength and char- 
acter with the functional activity of the brain. 
The destruction of a brain area completely ob- 
literates its function; i. e., the faculty of mind it 
manifested. 

The relation between the objective and sub- 
jective minds is most intimate. They are in a 
sense only two expressions of the I, the inner and 
the outer manifestations of the ego. The object- 
ive mind, while always limited by the functional 
power of the brain, is none the less the expression 
of the soul, for when the soul is absent there is 
no mentation. No amount of gray matter, unless 
it be animated by a resident life, can produce a 
conscious thought. 

The materialist who attempts to explain mind 
as a "secretion of the brain" has mistaken an ef- 
fect for a cause, a process for a force, a physical 
change for a resident life. The phenomena of 
the objective mind can no more be produced by 



Relation of the 
Objective and 
Subjective 
Minds* 



PSYCHOLOGY. 67 

the combustion of gray matter in a brain, in the 

absence of a soul, than heat can be produced by a 

convex lens in the absence of lisfht. On the other Gray Matter 
..... . . . . . Cannot Produce 

hand, objective consciousness, being dependent a Thought. 

upon cerebration, all our thoughts, powers of per- 
ception, feelings and sensations are determined by 
the strength and functional activity of the several 
areas of the brain. 

The objective mind is the instructor of the sub- 
jective mind; while the subjective, in a sense, 
inspires the objective. The objective mind 
through its external organs, the five senses, con- Modus Operandi 
tinually receives impressions from the external 
world and transfers them to the subjective mind, 
where they become registered upon the super-con- 
scious ego. Mental images and thought forms 
resident in the subjective mind, whether placed 
there by objective perception or subjective in- 
tuition, continually pass to the objective mind and 
become conscious thoughts or memories. New 
incoming impressions continually excite the resi- Vibrations 
dent thought forms, and, to a greater or less ex- Objective and 
tent, change the psychic self. Thus the ego is ™. b ij ctive 
continually being modified by impressions from 
without. 

The phenomena of thinking, or conscious men- 
tation, is not easily analyzed. It consists mainly 
in taking cognizance of objective and subjective 
impressions and adjusting them to old thought 
forms, plus the recollection, readjustment and re- 
construction of resident images, feelings, thoughts 
and sentiments. To illustrate, while passing down 
the street recently, I noticed a photograph of 
Niagara Falls. This miniature picture imme- 



68 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

diately recalled my first visit to the great cataract, 
the impression it made upon me, the friends with 
T TVnkf° mena whom I was associated, and many things inci- 
dental to my visit at Niagara. Thus the impres- 
sion gave rise to several minutes of conscious men- 
tation and caused the reviving and readjustment 
of many thought forms. 

Thought forms, or mental images, feelings, 
emotions, sentiments or desires oft repeated be- 
come fixed characteristics of the soul. All estab- 
lished thought forms have their physical basis in 

txk^rS^ 11 " ^ ie b ra * n - Repeated thoughts, images or emo- 
tions, establish nerve paths, which tend strongly 
to control the future thinking and conduct. Thus 
by our thinking we are continually molding the 
character of the soul, forming brain paths and 
determining our future possibilities and tend- 
sencies. Truly, "As a man thinketh in his heart, 
so is he." 



: CHAPTER IV. 

BRAIN BUILDING AND SOUL GROWTH. 

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
make you free." Nearly nineteen hundred years Make You Free, 
have come and gone since this sublime sentence 
fell from the lips of the man of Galilee. Millions 
have repeated it, thousands have preached from 
it, genius has pondered over it; yet none have 
been able to fully comprehend its significance. 

In science and law, ethics and religion, turn 
whichever way we may, man is bound by igno- 
rance, fettered by prejudice and imprisoned by sin. le^mace!* ° 
Only as he knows the truth is he able to break 
the chains of ignorance, burst the shackles of 
prejudice, unlock the prison doors of sin and 
stand forth a free man. 

From the birth of the race to the present hour 
man has been struggling for freedom, striving to 
realize his own ideals, reaching for everything 
that would help to liberate him from whatever was 
opposed to progress. The new psychology J£ e Struggle for 
promises him material aid. By a proper system 
of brain building and soul growth, it is found to 
be possible to so construct the character of a 
child as will make its life exemplary. By per- 
sistent training, the brain and character of the 
adult may be reconstructed. In the light of these 
facts the outlook for the race is most promising. 



7° 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Character 
Building* 



Establishing: a 
Brain Area* 



The possibilities of improvement are unlimited. 
More than ever before does it seem that Christ's 
words are to be realized and that the truth shall 
make us free. 

Man is a soul developing in a physical organ- 
ism. As long as he resides in this organism, he is 
limited by it. His life, freedom and conscious 
thoughts are all determined by the "house in 
which he lives. " Every man is building for him- 
self a prison cell or a palace wall. As he builds 
his brain, so will be his mental powers and moral 
tendencies. Physiological psychology explains 
why the thoughts of today become the dreams of 
tonight, the actions of tomorrow and the character 
of the future. 

It takes time and frequent repetition of a given 
thought, impulse, passion or sentiment to establish 
a strong brain area, but when such a physical 
basis once becomes established it requires great 
effort and training to change the character and 
rebuild the brain so that it will readily express 
the changed conditions of the mind. 

Educators and reformers have too long ignored 
Limits *the Man. ^ he physical basis of minds and morals. No man 
whose youth has been spent in idleness, whose 
brain has not been trained by definite thinking, 
can suddenly become a close observer or a clear 
reasoner. No man who has for years built his 
brain on the plane of animality and passion, to the 
neglect of his moral sentiments, can give expres- 
sion to a pure life and noble character by merely 
willing to do so. If his brain has been wrongly 
constructed, he will realize what Paul meant when 
he said, "When I would do good, evil is present 
with me." 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH, yi 

The popular idea that every man must sow 
wild oats in youth in order to have a strong, vigor- 
ous character in maturity is wholly wrong. Ex- 
periences are conducive to character building only 
when they develop the higher sentiments. One §? ^ m8 ^ iI( * 
does not control his appetites easier for having 
indulged them in youth, but with greater diffi- 
culty. Every experience in dissipation tends to 
strengthen the nerve paths of vice and thereby 
make it easier for him to do the same thing again. 
Too much cannot be said in favor of good home 
influences and early surroundings. Pure thoughts, 
high ideals and noble aspirations are easily built 
into the plastic brain of youth. When these are 
firmly established they become the determining 
factors of the future conduct and character. 

Dr. DeMotte, in his most excellent lecture on 
"The Harp of the Senses, or The Secret of Char- 
acter Building," says : "The Physical Basis of a Dr D e Motte 
vicious life is a net- work of Trunk Lines in which Brain Tracks, 
the incarrying waves of stimulation waken in the 
soul a host of accustomed activities, such as vile 
memories, alluring imaginations, craving appe- 
tites, and their like, having well worn routes 
through the outcarrying nerves to whatever lines 
.of conduct have been followed in their develop- 
ment. The Physical Basis of a virtuous life is a 

net work of Trunk Lines where the incoming n , . f „ . 
- . , . - . . , , Physical Basis 

waves of stimulation on reaching the cerebral of Vice. 

hemispheres of the brain find their well worn 
tracks, with switches already set, leading to the 
God-given higher possessions of the soul — holy 
memories, pure imaginations, concentrated am- 
bitions, righteous judgments and a Will, whose 



72 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Basis of 

Virtue. 



nerve connections with these higher faculties is so 
perfect that at once — unless the line of duty pre- 
sent complications requiring consideration — the 
commands for right conduct are flashed out 
through the outgoing nerve tracks, and instantly 
obeyed. * * * Here we stand face to face 
with a tremendous physical fact. Every volun- 
tary act, whether good or evil, beats its own path 
a little smoother, so to speak, for another of like 
character. * * * Every day that we live 
deciding against the right, we are voluntarily 
strengthening, with our own blood, meshes of our 
own physical organism which shall presently bind 
us, body and soul, wretched slaves to passions 
and appetites of our own nurturing." 

The idea that men and women can long pursue 
a given course of life and conduct, and then sud- 
Re-forming the denly change to an opposite course has more foun- 
dation in fiction than in fact, in religious teaching 
than in religious experience. It is true that a man 
who has spent a life in sin and established a 
physical basis in his brain that inclines him to 
evil conduct, may, under the influence of sound 
conversion and the power of the Holy Spirit, 
change the whole order of his life and become a 
new creature; but this becoming a nezv creature 
takes time. It is not the work of a day. It may 
be begun in a moment. His outer conduct under 
conversion may change instantly, but it is the 
experience of all who have followed the paths of 
evil for any considerable time that long after their 
conversion temptations continually arise. 

It is well known that the conduct of persons 
in times of great excitement is controlled largely 



Effects of Old 
Brain Paths* 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH. 73 

by their previous training. It is said that Gen. Joe 

Wheeler, on seeing the Spaniards flying before 

his forces at Santiago, in the moment of excite-? en S& , 

1 1 1 • cct~* ti 1 joe wneele?* 

ment shouted to his men, Forward boys, the 

Yankees are running!" This expression was the 
result of a brain path formed in the '60s, when the 
general was one of the most valiant officers of 
the Confederacy. 

Parents frequently make the fatal mistake of 
governing a child through its appetites and pro- 
pensities, instead of appealing to its moral nature. The Govern- 
By so doing they continually strengthen the bram 
areas of the propensities, with the result that the 
child becomes so selfish and willful as to be un- 
jgovernable. Every time we excite a feeling, J 
/faculty or sentiment we strengthen it; therefore, \ 
by appealing to the child's intellect, love and con- 
science, parents may so strengthen these powers 
as to make them the governing elements in its 
character. 

Brain building is accomplished in precisely the 
same way that muscle building is, namely, by The Law of 
normal, systematic use. To increase the strength ram Bmldm §> 
of any brain center, so that the element of mind 
that it manifests shall be stronger, it is necessary 
only to exercise this element or power of mind 
habitually, and its physical basis in the brain will 
be developed and its co-ordinated nerve tracks 
strengthened. Experience has proved that if 
athletic training is to be of any special value to 
the muscles three things are necessary : ( 1 ) the 
exercise must be adapted to a definite purpose; 
(2) it must not be violent or straining, but of such 
a character as will call the muscles into normal, 



74 T A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

vigorous use; (3) it must be daily, or at least 
regular, and must cease before exhaustion. The 
same law is applicable to mind training and brain 
building. To improve any element or power of 
R « the mind, the student should decide upon a definite 

Mentation purpose, then adopt such a series of mentation as 

Required* w j]j ca jj tf\Q elements or powers he desires to 

cultivate into action. This mentation should 
never be violent nor of such a character as to 
strain the mind or unduly excite the nervous sys- 
tem. It should be repeated by daily study and 
habitual practice of mentation, or exercise of the 
powers in question, always stopping short of 
weariness or exhaustion. 

This method faithfully applied will develop the 
brain areas and strengthen the mental power of 
The Brain Must am/ faithful student. It should always be borne 
be Nourished. [ n m ind, however, that the brain is dependent upon 
the body for its nourishment and building 
material ; therefore, brain building requires nutri- 
tious food, good digestion, free respiration and 
unimpeded circulation. Thoughts are brain- 
builders, repeated mentations determine the con- 
struction, but the body must supply the materials. 
In character building it is often quite as essen- 
tial to diminish certain brain centers, and thereby 
To Restrain Evil restrain inherited or acquired evil tendencies, as 
it is to cultivate. Not only is this necessary in 
dealing with children, but it is frequently required 
in modifying or changing the character of those 
of mature years, whose early habits have estab- 
lished undesirable nerve centers and unduly 
strengthened or developed the areas that give rise 
to the propensities. To reduce the strength of 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH. 75 

any element of mind, all that is necessary is to 
stop using it. Nature is a wonderful economist; 
brain centers and nerve paths that are never used 
gradually become weaker, and if kept absolutely 
dormant for months or years may become so weak 
as to have very little influence upon the charac- 
ter. The parable of the hidden talent is a fact in Xalent ^ 
all nature. Whoever lays a power away for any 
considerable length of time will find that he has 
lost it, or at least that it has become greatly 
reduced. 

All vicious tendencies may be overcome. If 
one has a violent temper, an abnormal appetite, 
a perverted passion or a pompous pride, even Controlling the 
though these spring from inherited tendencies or 
are the product of years of brain building, if they 
are laid aside by force of will and the grace of 
God so that they are no longer indulged in, gradu- 
ally, their physical basis will become weaker, their 
tendency to action will be lessened, and finally the 
soul will be freed from the control of these 
abnormal desires. 

The fact of soul building through repeated 
suggestions has just begun to attract the attention 
of parents, teachers and reformers. The potency Soul Building by 
of a suggestion in the healing of disease is admit- U22es 
ted by all well informed, unprejudiced observers. 
Few, however, appreciate the paramount import- 
ance of the law of suggestion as a means of soul 
growth. 

It has been demonstrated that even under hyp- 
notic control, a subject will rarely, if ever, do that 
which he has repeatedly affirmed while in his 
normal state he would not do. A reformed 



7 6 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



A Hypnotic 
Demonstration* 



He Would not 
Drink Liquor. 



A Fact of 

Supreme 

Importance, 



inebriate under hypnotic control was given a lead 
pencil and told it was a cigar. He immediately 
placed it between his teeth and tried to light it 
with the assurance of enjoying a smoke. He was 
shown a stream of water on the floor and was 
instructed to prepare to wade it. He immediately 
acted upon the suggestion without the slightest 
hesitancy, despite the mirth and uproar of the 
audience. He was then given a glass of water 
and told that it was sparkling wine and that he 
should drink it. He took the wine glass in his 
hand and said, "Yes, Doctor, I see it is excellent 
wine and I am very fond of liquors of all kinds, 
but I was once a hard drinker. I signed the 
pledge and for six years have not tasted a drop. 
I have steadily resolved that I would not use it 
and gradually the appetite has left me. You will 
please excuse me from drinking this." Other 
suggestions of a most ridiculous character were 
given and accepted by the subject without the 
slightest resistance. 

Thousands of like experiments have been made 
with similar results. They disclose a fact of 
supreme importance, namely, that a man may by 
repeated suggestions so strengthen and fix his 
character that he will not do under temptation 
that which is contrary to his established ideals. 
If character can be so firmly established as to con- 
trol the conduct against a hypnotic suggestion, 
it certainly can be made strong enough to resist 
any temptation while in the normal state. Men 
yield to temptation because repeated suggestion, 
wrong thinking and vicious desires have weakened 
the character and made it susceptible. Right 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH. 77 

thinking, right desires and right resolves, oft 
repeated, will make it possible for any man to 
resist temptation. 

The character of a soul can be wholly recon- 
structed. Any vice may be overcome, any virtue 
established, by a proper system of soul training. a Suggestion. 
jThis assertion may seem a little strained to those 
unacquainted with the potency of a suggestion; 
but I wish to assure my readers that it is not based 
upon theory. It has been my good fortune to 
direct the lives of thousands of young men, 
hundreds of whom had known vice and sin for 
years, and, with scarcely a single exception, every 
man who has followed the suggestions given him 
and taken the proper care of the body and brain 
has found himself a new man. 

The processes of soul growth are not unlike 
those of muscle and brain building-. Here, too, 
the three essentials are: (1) a definite purpose s ul Growth, 
in view, or a clear concept of what is desired; 
(2) a series of suggestions and mental images 
adapted to the desired end; (3) regular, daily 
exercise, or repetition of the suggestions. 

A suggestion to be of any practical value in 

character building must be fully lodged in the 

subjective mind and repeated a sufficient number «ow to Lodge a 
. . ouggestion. 

of times to establish a physical basis in the brain. 

The simple repetition of a suggestion, parrot-like, 
has no practical value whatever in character build- 
ing. To lodge a suggestion one must be in earnest. 
He should fix the ideal in his mind, then silently 
repeat it over and over in faith, believing that his 
ideal is now becoming a reality. If a man is 
sincere, if he will repeatedly lodge the desired 



78 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Secret of 
Self-control. 



suggestion, if he will continually strive to feel 
that the thing hoped for is now realized, it will 
gradually, but surely, become an integral part of 
his character. 

To overcome any weakness the character must 
be built up when the person is normal and removed 
from all temptations. If one waits until the hour 
of trial before deciding or before exercising his 
will, the decision and conduct are very apt to be 
wrong. By deciding while in the normal state, 
when removed from all temptation, what one will 
or will not do and earnestly making these decisions 
over and over again in the mind, they will become 
controlling factors in the character. 

To illustrate : Suppose that one has a violent 
temper. This abnormal expression of force, 
whether hereditary or acquired, has its physical 
basis in the brain, which when stimulated by any 
exciting cause, sends its abnormal suggestion into 
the brain centers; these become agitated and 
return the waves along the line of the nerve paths 
of action, resulting in the expression of anger. 
Now, what is wanted is to build into the soul 
when it is normal and undisturbed a suggestion 
that will oppose the stimuli that come from these 
abnormal brain centers. A simple suggestion 
calculated to meet this demand would be, "I am 
always good natured." "I will not get angry." 
"I do not get angry." "I will suppress my 
Suggestions to be temper." "I will not express anger in any way." 
A secondary condition that must be considered 
is that anger, or any abnormal expression of the 
passions, indicates a lack of self-control, and there- 
fore suggestions should be given calculated to 



Pre-fixing the 
Character. 



Lodged. 



* 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH. 79 

strengthen the will. The following suggestions 

will be found helpful : "I will be what I will to 

be." "I am free." "No temptation from within ^^^f hen 

or without can cause me to deviate from my 

ideals." "I will not be selfish." "I have perfect 

control over all my impulses." "I am master of 

myself." 

If these suggestions are properly lodged in the 
mind, they will gradually, but surely, become 
established factors. When thus established, if Growth* 
some irritating cause sends the stimulus of temper 
over the old nerve paths, it will be met and op- 
posed by the auto-suggestions. "I do not get 
angry." "I am free." "I am master of myself." 
Soon the brain will become normal, the temper 
will have been suppressed and the soul will be 
conscious of a victory. 

In addition to brain building and soul growth 
by suggestion there is another power that should 
always be employed by those who would gain y s P mt » 

absolute freedom and have the strength of char- 
acter that belongs to the true man or woman. 
It is the power of the Holy Spirit. This may 
seem like preaching to some of my readers; but 
nevertheless, it is strictly scientific. The recog- 
nition of God, not as a far-removed anthropo- 
morphic being, nor as a relic of ancient supersti- 
tion, but as an infinite omnipresent Spirit, who is 
willing and able to give us life and power, will 
enable any soul to gradually become master of 
the carnal self. 

The human will may fail, good purposes may Freedom for All* 
lack courage, and even suggestions may some 
times prove ineffectual, but the exercise of these 



8o 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Law of 
Denial* 



Nature Abhors 
a Vacum* 



together with the power of Divinity are equal to 
every emergency and the complete reformation of 
any erring soul. 

The law of denial, so strongly advocated by 
many psychologists, is in my judgment of much 
less value, than it is generally considered to be. 
To deny a thing requires a recognition and con- 
sideration of the thing to be denied; this repro- 
duces the evil image in the soul, and thereby be- 
comes absolutely harmful instead of helpful. 
The better way is simply to ignore, neither affirm- 
ing nor denying the evil or temptation. To do 
this all that is necessary is to keep the mind and 
soul thoroughly occupied with something else. 
"Nature abhors a vacuum;" this statement is as 
true in psychics as in physics. If we do not fill 
our minds they will be filled with thoughts and 
suggestions from the outer world. If a man keep 
his mind continually occupied with that whicfi is 
useful and helpful he may be continually sur- 
rounded by vice, yet it can not harm him. 

In the control of abnormal propensities and the 
regulation of conduct three things are essential: 
( i ) Hygienic living, that the blood may be kept 
Great Essentials. p Ure and the brain normal. (2) Proper sugges- 
tions and mental images, so that the evil stimuli 
may be counteracted by established virtues and a 
firm will. (3) Recognition of the soul's oneness 
with God and the acceptance of the Holy Spirit 
as the perfecter of man. 

In all lines of training whether in the gym- 
nasium, in brain building, or in soul development, 
patience and faithfulness are absolutely essential 
to success. Sudden changes are never normal, 



The Three 



Saved by 
Inexorable Law* 



BRAIN BUILDING, SOUL GROWTH, 81 

but are always the product of stimulation, which 
is invariably followed by a reaction. Therefore, 
let him who would be strong and free be regular 
in practice, faithful in obedience to the laws of 
body, mind and soul, patient to labor, in faith 
believing, and, by inexorable law, he will gradu- 
ally, but surely gain the mental power, soul free- 
dom and nobility of character that he desires. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 



Life is a 

Mystery. 



Living 
Protoplasm. 



It is not the purpose of this chapter to enter into 
a lengthy, much less a technical, discussion of 
the principles of biology or evolution ; but rather 
to present in simple language the processes of re- 
production as a basis for the study of heredity. 

Life is a mystery. The processes of life may 
be said to be fairly well understood, but the ulti- 
mate essence and origin of life are as unknown 
to the scientist as to the savage. To be sure, 
many theories have been advanced, yet all have 
fallen short of the solution of the problem. The 
"psycho-chemical theory" formulated by Prof. 
Huxley, which presumed to explain all life as be- 
ing the product of certain chemical combinations 
and manifestations and was for a time accepted 
by many as a scientific statement of the essence 
and origin of life — has been abandoned by scien- 
tific men. All attempts to analyze living proto- 
plasm have utterly failed to disclose the secret of 
life. When protoplasm is analyzed it is but dead 
matter composed largely of oxygen, hydrogen, 
nitrogen, carbon and sulphur, elements which 
cannot be made to combine in any form to pro- 
duce the phenomena of life or living protoplasm. 

In a recently revised edition of "The Princi- 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 83 

pies of Science," Mr. Spencer says : "The theory 
or vital principle fails and the psycho-chemical Spencer, 
theory also fails to explain the phenomena of life, 
the corollary being, that in its ultimate nature, 
life is incomprehensible." Prof. Japp, in a recent p f T 
address before the British Association for the 
Advancement of Science, said : "No fortuitous 
concourse of atoms, even with all eternity for 
them to clash and combine in, could compass this 
feat of the formation of the first optically active 
organic compound. Co-incident is excluded, and 
every purely mechanical explanation of the phe- The Phenomena 
nomena of life must necessarily fail. I see no 
escape from the conclusion that at the moment 
when life first arose a direct force came into 
play." He might have added that at every im- 
pulse or expression of life, from the moment the 
first breath of the Infinite vibrated through chaotic 
ether and chaos became cosmos, up through all 
the processes of evolution and reproduction to the 
present hour, there has ever been present a vital The Vital 
principle, a dynamic force, a directing intelli- " ncipe * 
gence, that cannot be analyzed by chemistry, 
measured by dynamics, or accounted for by any 
science or system of philosophy that denies the 
existence of the Immanent God. 

We do not know what God is, for He is Spirit 
and cannot be analyzed, neither do we know what 
matter is in its ultimate substance. That both 
exist and ever have existed is evident to all 
thoughtful persons. Men may differ in their con- 
cepts of God, yet the most skeptical must admit The Immanent 
with Spencer that "We are ever in the presence 
of an eternal and infinite principle, from which all 



84 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Evolution. 



Reproduction 

Evades 

Analysis. 



Biological 
Speculation. 



things proceed." For myself I think of what we 
call inorganic matter as the more inert substance 
of the universe. I think of God as an Infinite 
Spirit, omnipotent, omniscient, omniparous and 
omnipresent; an all-powerful, all- wise, all-pro- 
ducing, ever-present Being, the literal Father of 
all life, the Over Soul of the Universe, in whom 
all life inheres. I see all life as the manifestation 
of God in nature, the expression of the imminent, 
or indwelling God through physical forms. I 
see evolution as the outworking of an infinite and 
intelligent plan and man as its highest product. 
This view may not be acceptable to all ; but since 
it cannot be successfully contradicted, and since 
no other theory will account for all the facts in 
nature, and since all things take place just as if 
it were true, we may safely accept it as a working 
hypothesis in our study of the phenomena of life 
and reproduction. 

If life is a mystery, when considered from a 
purely materialistic point of view, its reproduc- 
tion is not less so. The scientists of the age have 
been, and still are, busily engaged with their 
theories of "ids" and "idants," "gemmules," 
"physiological units," "biophors," "germ-plasm," 
etc., vainly searching for a physical explanation 
of the phenomena of heredity.* There is a phy- 

*It is impossible in our limited space to give even a con- 
densed statement of the many theories of heredity that 
have been advanced by leading scientists. A brief syn- 
opsis, however, of a few of the principal ones may prove 
of interest to some of our readers. Democritus (400 
B. C.) advanced the theory that all parts of the body con- 
tributed to the "seed," and as a result the offspring was 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 85 

sical basis to heredity, but the anatomy of a germ- 
cell is only an instrument and can no more be 
made to explain the phenomena of reproduction 
than the physical organism of man can be made 
to explain the phenomena of life. According to 
Weismann and others, chromatin forms the phys- Ba J s f ysica 
ical basis of heredity and is the means of the trans- Heredity. 
mission of all ancestral traits. If this be true, 
then the anatomical basis or substance of all forms 
of life is the same in the germ-cell and the varia- 
tions of life remain unaccounted for. 

All attempts to explain the process of repro- 
duction on a purely physical basis must necessa- 
rily fail. Life inheres in and is transmitted by 
the psychical rather than the physical nature. The L - f t, 
difference between the germ-cells of the various the Soul, 
forms of life is not in their chemical compound, 
nor in their organic structure, but in the resident 
life. So far as our power of analysis goes, the 

similar to the parent. In the eighteenth century came what 
is known as the older "evolution" theories of Bounet and 
Haller, in which it was held that the egg or spermatozoon 
contained a minute but perfect repetition of the parent, and 
that the development of the embryo was but the expansion 
or "evolution" of this germ. In this germ was found the 
germs of the next generation, and so on ad finitwm. 

No other theory was advanced for over a hundred years, 
when Darwin published his "Origin of Species." This 
renewed speculation on this line, and several theories were 
advanced ; among the more important were Spencer's 
"Physiological Units," Darwin's "Pangenesis," "the flavor 
and odor substance" theory of Jagers, and the "plastidule" 
theories of Haeckel and Elsberg. All of these theories, Darwin's 
while differing substantially in detail and presentation, are ■*• keory. 
based upon the assumption that life has its beginning in 
gemmules, or "physiological units," which are an epitome 



86 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

anatomy of two cells may be identical, yet one 
may contain the life of a rabbit or a dog, the other 
the undeveloped soul of a man. Chromatin is 
the physical basis of both; the difference is in 

Celf. S ° Ul ° f a the res *dent n fe> tne sou l °f tlie celi - Lying back 
of the physical organism, of each plant, animal 
and man, there is the invisible, but none the less 
substantial, psychic organism that constitutes the 
basis of life and is the instrument of reproduction. 
Conceding that we do not know what matter is, 

The Primordial nor what life is, we do know that every living 
organism is a union of the two. The Primordial 
Cell, or the lowest form of life known to science, 
consists anatomically of a closed sac of a trans- 
parent membrane containing a semi-fluid sub- 
stance (protoplasm) in which are suspended 
molecules, granules, or other minute cells. Psycho- 
logically the Primordial Cell consists of a 
psychic organism capable of performing the func- 

of the parent organism. Darwin's theory of "Pangenesis," 
which has attracted by far the widest attention, supposed 
that during their lifetime every cell of the parent disengages 
small living particles — gemmules — which find their way to 
and are stored up in the generative cells ready to develop 
in the next generation into cells similar to those from which 
they came. These gemmules were supposed to retain the 
impression not only of the cells from which they come, but 
of the various conditions to which they have been exposed. 
They circulate freely through the system, and by their union 
form the sexual elements. They thus transmit to the off- 
spring not only the original characters of the parents, but 
the conditions to which they have been subjected. 
Gallon's Francis Galton put Darwin's theory to what he deemed 

Experiments. a most practical test. He proceeded upon the idea that if 
these gemmules are constantly given off by the cells, if 
they circulate freely through the system and if the repro- 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 87 

tions of digestion, assimilation, respiration, sen- 
sation and reproduction. The cell, therefore, is g Psychic 
a physical organism animated by a psychic or- 
ganism or form of life. The many celled organ- 
ism is an anatomy composed of physical units and 
a soul composed of psychic units. 

Life in its ultimate nature is composed of two 
principles, a masculine and a feminine. All forms 
of life are reproduced by the union of these two How Life is 
principles. In the lower forms of life the mascu- epro UC€ 
line and feminine attributes exist in one organ- 
ism. Such multiply by the union of these princi- 
ples within the organism. The new life thus 
created when sufficiently developed is east of from 
the parent cell. This is called multiplication by 
division. In the many celled organisms in some 
mysterious way each psychic unit sends its repre- 
sentative to help form a miniature, or rudimentary 
psychic nature which becomes an epitome of the 

ductive elements are formed from their union, then the 
introduction of gemmules of another kind will necessarily 
modify the offspring. He therefore infused eighteen silver 
gray rabbits with the blood of other kinds. They produced 
86 young, but showed in no instance any tendency towards 
variety. He finally arrived at a "process of heredity" 
founded on the continuity of what he termed "strip." This 
advances the idea that every cell in the body, including the 
sperm cells and ova, are descended from a fertilized ovum. 
Of these cells of the body all obviously die except those 
sperm cells and ova that give rise to the next generation 
and so on. We have, therefore, a continuing chain of actual 
organic matter — strip — linking every living form with those 
that are most ancestral and remote. From these chains all 
the so-called living organisms that have ever existed have, 
as it were, been thrown off. Many have emphasized this 
point, Owen, Haeckel and others, but perhaps to Francis 



88 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



parent life, having in its organism, in rudiment- 
ary form, all the attributes of its parent. The 
anatomy of this rudimentary psychic organism is 
what we call a germ-cell, and it forms the physical 

aNcwL?e S1S ° f ^ asis of the new life - ^ s the rudimentary organ- 
ism develops it becomes more and more complex 
both in its anatomy and its psychic nature, until 
it is finally a duplicate, a reproduction, anatomic- 
ally, physiologically and psychologically of its 
parent. 

To simplify: suppose we have a simple organ- 
ism composed of five psychic units (cells). Each 
of these five units is in reality, as we have seen, 
an organism having the power to reproduce itself ; 
but in the larger or five-celled organism, each 
unit has its specific function to perform. As in 
the single-celled organism a nucleus is formed 
and cast off as a means of reproduction, so in the 
five-celled organism each of the five units will give 



A Simple 
Explanation of 
Reproduction. 



"Weismann's 
Theory. 



Chromatin. 



Galton must be given much of the credit of clearly stating 
it as a fact. Similar views have been more recently popu- 
larized among biologists by the voluminous writings of 
Weismann on "the continuity of the germ-plasm." 

In 1883 Weismann began to advance a theory of heredity 
differing in many particulars from all its predecessors. It is 
based upon the facts recently discovered regarding the struc- 
ture and physiology of the cell. It has been productive of 
more discussion and comment than any biological specula- 
tion since the appearance of Darwin's "Origin of Species." 
Weismann holds that inheritance in the many celled animals 
— metazoa — and multicellular plants takes place through the 
germ-cells, the egg and spermatozoon in animals, and cor- 
responding cells, known under various names, in plants. 
Since the offspring may inherit from either parent, the 
means for the transmission of ancestral traits must be the 
same in both the male and female products. By carefully 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 89 

a portion of its life to the formation of a com- 
munity cell (germ-cell). The new life thus 
formed has, therefore, as its constituent elements, 
a portion of the life that was in each of the five 
parent units. Now, instead of an organism com- 
posed of five units of life, or cells, let us suppose 
that it contains five thousand, or five million; 
each of these units in this more complex organ- 
ism has its specific function to perform ; each will 
give a portion of its life to the formation of a new 
organism. Out of the principles of life coming 
from each of these millions of cells, or little lives, 
a new life is formed, a germ-cell. This germ- 
cell, though simple in its anatomy, has in it the 
specific character and form of life of all the mil- 
lions of cells of the parent organism. It requires 
only growth and development to make it a dupli- 
cate of its parent, having the same complex 
anatomy, functions and sensations that belong to 
the parent life. ■ 

analyzing these products it has been found that there is 
apparently only a single substance in them that fulfills all 
conditions and can serve as a physical basis of heredity. 
This is that peculiar substance known to science as chro- 
matin, which forms an essential part of all animal and plant 
cells. In all cases of the division of the cells (mitosis) the 
chromatin is divided between the daughter nucleuli by a 
peculiar process, which is apparently adapted to secure an 
equal division, so that each half shall be an exact duplicate 
of the other. The impregnation of the tgg, on the other 
hand, is the reverse of this. There is a union of the 
chromatin of the male and female cells to form nuclear Origin of Genn- 
material for the new germ-cell. When development begins ** asm * 
each cell of the body shares equally in the chromatin of the 
germ-cells of both parents, because all of them are deriva- 
tions by equal division of the compound or impregnated 



9 o 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Reproduction m 
Man. 



Man is just such a complex organism as we 
have been studying. Anatomically he is com- 
posed of many millions of cells, each of which is 
the body of a psychological unit, that performs a 
specific function in his organism. Psychologically 
he is a complex soul composed of millions of 
primary life principles or units. By the co-opera- 
tion of these life principles, acting through and 
by means of this complex anatomy, all the func- 
tions of life, sensation and mentality are carried 
on. From each of these millions of psychic units 
there passes, in some mysterious way, a represen- 
tative principle into a life germ that thus becomes 
an epitome of the parent's organization. 

As previously indicated, in the lowest forms of 
life the male and female principles exist in one 
organism; in such the union of these principles 
takes place within the parent organism and the 
new life thus created needs only to be expelled 



Continuity of 
Germ-Plasm. 



cell. In the whole process of development there is a con- 
stant division of nuclear material, but at no time, except in 
impregnation, is there a union of the chromatin from two 
cells. The diminution of the chromatin, which is the conse- 
quence of the division, is made good only by the assimila- 
tion and metabolization of non-chromatin material. It 
therefore follows that the chromatin of the germ-cells (what 
Weismann calls "germ-plasm") is not and cannot be derived 
from any part of the parent organism; but that, on the 
contrary, it is a direct descendant of the germ-plasm of the 
parent germ-cells, and stands to all the rest of the body in 
much the same relation as does a parasite to its host, show- 
ing a life independent of the body, save in so far as the body 
supplies to it appropriate lodgment and nutrition. In each 
generation, it is supposed, a small portion of this substance 
is told off to develop a new body to lodge and nourish the 
ever-growing and never-dying germ-plasm — it can transmit 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 91 

from the parent organism to complete the repro- 
ductive process. In man, as in all the higher 
forms of life, the male and female principles exist 
in separate organisms, so that the male half of a bisexual 
new life is produced in the father's nature and the 
female half in the mother's nature; by the union 
of these two halves a new being having all the 
physical, mental and moral characteristics of its 
parents is produced. 

Just how the parent organism involves into 
the new life all its physical, mental and moral 
peculiarities, is a mystery that has been the sub- 
ject of endless speculation, to which I do not care „ jE? 0fy 
to add. I may say, however, that none of the 
theories of those who deny the existence of the 
soul explain all the facts of reproduction. Weis- 
lnann's theory of "the continuity of the germ- 
plasm," fails to explain the effect of acquired 
characters and maternal impressions. The theory 

nothing to the next generation except what it has received 
from its parents or what may originate in itself. It resem- 
bles its so-called parent body simply because it has been 
developed from the same mass of formative material. 
Weismann's theory then of "the continuity of the germ- 
plasm" is : that this formative material or germ-plasm has 
been continuous through all generations of successively 
perishing bodies, which therefore stand to it in much the 
same relation as annual shoots to a perennial stem : the 
shoots resemble one another simply because they are all 
grown from the same stock. The germ-plasm, therefore, 
continues in an unbroken line from generation to genera- 
tion, from which at intervals the body grows up, lives its 
life and dies, in a manner analogous to the development of 
fronds of the fern from the underground rhizome. 

It is generally held by those who accept Weismann's 
theory of "the continuity of the germ-plasm" that there can 



92 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Darwin's 

Theory 

Contradicted. 



Mutilations not 
Transmitted. 



advocated by Darwin and others, that each an- 
atomical cell in an organism gives a minute portion 
of its substance to the germ cell, thus making it 
a veritable reproduction of the parent organism, 
is flatly contradicted by the well known fact that 
in the case of mutilation, such as the loss of a 
limb, by a parent, the offspring is not affected. 
On the other hand, there is positive evidence that 
the psychic nature is pre-eminently potential in 
the formation of the life germ and that the per- 
fection of the new life depends, primarily, upon 
the psychical rather than the physical organism. 
Observations prove that mutilation of the parent 
organism does not affect offspring unless it is re- 
peated a sufficient number of generations to de- 
stroy the function performed by that part. Thus, 
if we bob a dog's tail his immediate progeny will 



Acquired Char- 
acters are 
Transmitted. 



be no such thing as the transmission of acquired characters 
in the common acceptation of the term. I cannot share this 
view, (i) Because it is well known that the character of 
a life is modified by the character of the food on which it 
subsists ; therefore, since the germ-plasm is dependent upon 
the organism in which it lives for its nutriment, it will nec- 
essarily be modified in strength and character by the tran- 
sient conditions of the organism. This is not a theory, but 
a demonstrable fact. Germ-plasm becomes weak or strong 
according as it is nourished. (2) Since the germ-plasm 
is, as Weismann says, "an independent life," that life must 
be continually subject to the psychological influences of the 
larger life in which it lives ; therefore, the life of the germ- 
plasm is influenced by the psychical states, mental and moral 
conditions of the parent. If I am right in these two propo- 
sitions, and I believe they are self-evident to any thoughtful 
person, it follows that the transmission of "acquired char- 
acters" is a possibility, even under the most rigid applica- 
tion of Weismann's theory. 



THE REPRODUCTION OF LIFE. 93 

not be bobtailed, yet if this process is continued 
for several generations until the function of the 
tail is destroyed, the tail will no longer be trans- 
mitted. Whereas, mutilation that does not de- 
stroy the function is not transmitted. For in- 
sance, it is well known that the Chinese babe does 
not inherit the (artificially produced) small foot 
of its mother. This is because the function of the 
foot is not destroyed by its restricted growth. If Foot. 
the Chinese women were to stop using their feet 
and continue the mutilation, or restriction of 
growth, it would be but a very few generations 
until the dwarf foot would become hereditary. 

Waiving all further consideration as to how 
the father and mother each builds into the half of 
a soul all of his or her physical, mental or moral 
peculiarities, the fact that they do so makes 
parentage sublime with possibilities and awful 
with responsibilities. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY. 



"Weismann 



Bradford* 



Ribot. 



Heredity 
Defined. 



"Heredity is the process which renders possible 
that persistence of organic beings throughout suc- 
cessive generations, which is generally thought 
to be so well understood as to need no special ex- 
planation." — Weismann. 

"Heredity is the law through which the indi- 
vidual receives from his parents by birth his chief 
vital forces and tendencies, his physical and spir- 
itual capital." — Bradford. 

"Heredity is that biological law by which all 
beings endowed with life tend to repeat them- 
selves in their descendants. It is for the species 
what personal identity is for the individual. By 
it a ground work remains unchanged amid inces- 
sant variations, by it nature ever copies and imi- 
tates herself." — Ribot. 

Heredity is the science of transmission. It 
deals with that process in nature whereby the 
characteristics of one generation are transmitted 
to the next. It is the perpetuating factor of biol- 
ogy and evolution. Considered in its broadest 
sense heredity includes all those laws, factors and 
forces which enter into the origin and determine 
the character of the new life. 

The great fundamental law of heredity is that 
like produces like. As expressed by Darwin, 



THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY. 95 

"The tendency is to produce an exact copy of 
parents in offspring." This law is modified by a 
secondary law, namely, that the acquired char- 
acters of one generation are transmitted to the Her^ditv^ 
next.* In a sense these two laws stand in direct 
opposition to each other. The former is the con- 
servative, while the latter is the radical principle 
in transmission. Through the operation of the 
primary law the fixed characters of the species are 
reproduced and their established peculiarities 
maintained. Through the operation of the second- The Opposing 
ary law the acquired characters of each genera- Principles of 
tion are transmitted to the next and become a ef l ^' 
part of its hereditary nature* If the first were the 
only law of heredity, then the species must for- 

*The doctrine of the transmission of acquired characters 
as taught by Darwin, Lamark, Spencer, Dugdale, Lombroso 
and others has been strongly opposed by Weismann and 
those who have accepted his theory of "germ plasm." A 
reaction, however, has already taken place among biologists 
so that Weismann's theory, as originally set forth, has com- 
paratively few supporters, while his own revised statements 
bring his theory not far from those of Darwin and Spencer. 
Certain it is that all close observers of human nature, not 
biased by an opposing theory, accept the doctrine of the 
transmission of acquired characters. Of this fact I shall 
have more to say later. 

*The terms "fixed characters" and "acquired characters" 
must be considered as only relative terms. There are in 
reality no "fixed characters" in nature. Constant change is 
the law of the universe. All so-called "fixed characters" 
have been acquired, but what has been long acquired and 
so often repeated as to have become an established factor 
in the physical or mental constitution of a species is called 
a "fixed character" in counter-distinction to those recently 
acquired. 



96 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

ever remain unchanged; both evolution and de- 
terioration would be impossible. If the second 
law were the only one, or even the controlling 
factor, then the environment and conditions of 
each generation would so modify the next as to 
destroy all established types and finally extermin- 
ate the species. By the continued operation and 
opposition of these two laws, gradual change and 
continued evolution are rendered possible. By 
the conservative principle nature retains all that 
it worth saving of the species ; while by the radical 
principles she modifies species by giving to off- 
spring what was acquired by parents. 

Through the law of heredity — theoretically 
speaking at least — each member of a species re- 
ceives an influence from all its ancestors clear 
back to the primal cell whence it sprang. The man 
MananEpitomy ^ to_ day is the sum total of all that has preceded 
of the Race. him. Whatever changes have been wrought by 
the evolution of the earth and its relation to the 
other members of the solar system; by develop- 
ing life in its struggle for existence and its strug- 
gle for the existence of others; by natural selec- 
tion and the survival of the fittest; by sexual se- 
lection and the mating instinct; by use and dis- 
use ; by the mixing and crossing of races and na- 
tionalities; by the combining of families and the 
transmission of acquired characters; by the in- 
fluences of food, climate, habit, custom, law, com- 
merce, society, education and religion ; all are 
recorded and interwoven into the life of the man 
of to-day. 

By heredity the product of all these factors in 
man's evolution has been retained and transmitted 



THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY. 97 

to the present generation. The elements of health 

and disease, of virtue and vice, of angel and ani-TneGiftcf 

mal ; together with the inevitable results of obeyed 

and broken laws, throughout all the centuries that 

have come and gone, since God "breathed into 

man the breath of life, and he became a living 

soul" — are the gift of heredity to us. 

The science of heredity is composed of several 

factors. As in the postnatal development of a 

life there are many potent factors, such as home X te £ actors of 
. -. ... .'•,.. . Heredity 

influences, associations, education, religious tram- Defined. 

ing, etc., each of which affects the life independent 
of the others, the sum total of all forming the 
character of the man; so in the prenatal forma- 
tion of a soul there are many factors, each of 
which exerts an influence peculiar to itself, the 
combination of the whole determining the hered- 
ity of the child. Now, in order to simplify the 
subject and bring the whole at once within the 
grasp of the student, I shall endeavor to reduce 
each of the several factors of heredity to a definite 
statement, and explain, in brief, their co-operant 
action. 

The twelve fundamental propositions or factors 
of heredity and prenatal culture, as we shall study 
them, are: 

i. Species — Or, that factory of heredity that (J) Species 
comes to all men in common as members of the 
species homo, and gives to each individual the 
basis of his physical and mental constitution. 

2. Racial Types — Or, the factor of racial (2) Racial 
peculiarities, which modify species, differentiate y ? eSt 
the several branches of the human family one 



9 8 



'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



(3) National 
Cfoaracterists. 



(4) Family and 
Parental Traits* 



(5) Sex 

Potency* 



(5) Dual 
Parentage. 



(7) Atavism. 



(8) Prenatal 
Culture. 



from the other, and determine the type of the in- 
dividual. 

3. National Characteristics — Or, the fac- 
tor of national traits which further differentiate 
members of the same race and give to each indi- 
vidual the physical and mental characteristics of 
his nationality. 

4. Family and Parental Traits — Or, the 
factor of heredity arising from the peculiar phy- 
sical and mental constitutions of the direct ances- 
tors of each parent, plus the characteristics of the 
immediate parents. 

5. Sex Potency — Or, the factor of heredity 
arising from the strength, adaptability and union 
of the masculine and feminine principles in the 
father and mother. 

6. Dual Parentage — Or, the factor of hered- 
ity resulting from the combination of nationalities 
and families; from bisexual parentage and the 
union and interblending of the physical and men- 
tal qualities of parents in offspring. 

7. Atavism — Or, the law whereby latent 
forces — physical and mental characters peculiar 
to a species, family or individual — that have not 
been manifested for one or more generations, be- 
come active, thereby causing the ancestral traits 
to reappear in offspring. 

8. Prenatal Culture — Or, the law whereby 
the acquired and the transient physical and mental 
characteristics of parents — particularly those that 
are most active for some time prior to the initial 
of a life, at the time of inception and in the mother 
during gestation — are transmitted to offspring. 

9. Initial Impressions — Or, the law whereby 



THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY. 99 

existing physical and mental states of parents, 
particularly the strength and activity of their sev- ^ Initial 

, . 1 r - 1 1 r 1 • t Impressions, 

eral vital functions and mental faculties at the 
time of conception, modify the heredity of off- 
spring. 

10. Maternal Impressions — Or, the law (jo) Maternal 
whereby the physical conditions and mental states Impressions. 
of the mother during gestation — her impulses, 
emotions, joys, sorrows, thoughts and sentiments 

— make their impression upon the forming body, 
plastic brain and sensitive soul of her offspring. 

11. Abnormal Impressions — Or, the law 
whereby an unusual or abnormal psychical dis- 
turbance — such as sudden shock, fright, grief ,y^> . notm ** 

f I o } £> I ' Impressions. 

anxiety, great excitement, intense longing, relig- 
ious fervor, extreme joy, mental or hypnotic sug- 
gestion — during gestation may (in very suscepti- 
ble mothers) produce physical or mental abnor- 
malities in the offspring. 

12. Planetary Influences — Or, the law^ Planetary 
whereby the nature and relation of the several 

planets to the earth at the time of the inception, 
growth and birth of a new life modify its hered- 
itary tendencies. 

The science of heredity when properly under- 
stood readily explains the endless variety of char- Heredity Applied 
acter observable in human nature, as well as all study. 1 * *'" 
the peculiarities of each individual. In the ap- 
plication of the science, as a basis of character 
study, there are several very important facts that 
should ever be borne in mind : 

1. Each of the several factors, particularly 
the acquired characteristics, are an unknown 
quantity; they may, or may not be highly poten- 



t.ofC. 



100 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Each Factor 

Unknown 

Quantity, 



an 



Factors in 
Opposition. 



Variations 
Explained* 



tial. Any one of them may be the controlling 
factor for good or evil. Thus a man may have 
a great natural ability as an artist arising from 
the factor of family traits, or from a combination 
resulting from the union of certain qualities in- 
herent in each parent, or from an acquired par- 
ental condition, or from maternal impressions, or 
from the combination of two or more of these 
factors. In like manner, any traits of character 
or physical conditions may arise from any one, 
or from several of the factors. 

2. The several factors of heredity are seldom, 
if ever, harmonious in their influence for good 
or evil. As in the postnatal development of a 
child the several factors of an environment may 
be most conflicting — the home influences good, 
but the schooling poor, the education good, but 
the ethical and religious training neglected, so 
that the influence of the one is modified by the 
other; so in the prenatal development of a life 
some factors may be favorable to a good inher- 
itance while others are unfavorable, thereby modi- 
fying the inherent tendencies. 

3. The established characters of both parents 
may be of a high order and favorable to a good 
inheritance, but from a lack of adaptation their 
qualities may not combine well, or the prenatal 
conditions may be unfavorable, or the mother 
may receive some abnormal impression sufficiently 
strong to thwart the whole order of life. Thus 
any one, two or more factors might easily coun- 
teract the good inheritance that would naturally 
be expected from the well organized parents. In 
like manner, all the factors are subject to the 



THE FACTORS OF HEREDITY. 101 

opposing influence and conjoined action of the 
others. 

4. Each of the several factors exist in ever- 
varying degrees of strength and activity. In one £ ct0 ^ Dl ^ €f m 
parent, the national traits and family peculiarities 

may be the controlling factors; in the other, the 
acquired characteristics and those resulting from 
some combination may be most potent. 

5. The influence of one parent may be much 
greater than that of the other; or the influence 
of the two may be harmonious and conducive to a 
common end, or they may stand in direct opposi- 
tion to each other. Thus one parent's nature may Variations 

. . Through 

tend to produce in the offspring intellectual, me- Parental 
chanical, artistic or moral tendencies, while the snces * 
other may add nothing to these qualities, or may 
stand in direct opposition to them and counter- 
act what otherwise might have been a good in- 
heritance. 

Finally, the fixed characteristics and those ac- Fixed versus 
quired may stand in direct opposition to each Acquired 
other. In some families the former, and in others 
the latter, seemingly control the heredity. 

Illustrations of this last proposition are observ- 
able, not only among families, but among na- 
tionalities. Some nationalities lose their national 
characteristics from change of environment much 
quicker than do others. The Hebrews are a splen- The Hebrew 
did illustration of the continuity of an estab- 
lished type in opposition to the changes wrought 
by environment and acquired tendencies. By cen- 
turies of discipline, under the most rigid laws, 
"God made them a peculiar people," and these 
peculiarities are maintained despite all other in- 



102 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

fluences. Here in America all other nationalities 
soon lose their individuality, so that in three or 
four generations it is difficult to determine the na- 
tionality from any physical or mental character- 
istic. But a Jew is a Jew the world over. Under 
all climatic, geographical and sociological condi- 
tions he retains the Hebrew character. A people 
without a home or nationality, and yet the most 
distinct people and most pronounced nationality 
on earth. 

The significance of the foregoing propositions 
AU s . will hardly be appreciated without reflection ; yet 

Contradictions the thoughtful mind will readily see that they ac- 
Expiicabie. count for all the facts, seeming contradictions, 
"exceptions" and phenomena of heredity. Theoso- 
phists and those unacquainted with the several 
phases of heredity are very prone to cite this fact 
or phenomena in human life as being inexplicable 
on the basis of heredity. It only seems so because 
their knowledge of the subject is limited. When 
we consider the potentiality of all the several 
No Exceptions factors indicated, the variety and peculiarities 
to the Law of ma de possible by their ever- varying combina- 
tions; when we realize how national types and 
the fixed characteristics of parents may be modi- 
fied in their offspring by planetary conditions, 
changed by prenatal influences, or the whole bent 
of a life determined by some strong maternal im- 
pression, it is easy to account for all the physical, 
mental and moral peculiarities observable in 
human life. There are no exceptions to the laws 
of heredity any more than there are to the law of 
gravitation. 

The factors of "species," "racial types" and 



THE FACTORS OF TIERED ITY. 103 

"national characteristics" may seem far removed 
from the problems of heredity in the individual, 
yet it should ever be borne in mind that these form 
the basis of the physical and mental constitution 
of all. They constitute the root, trunk and 
branches of the tree of life ; while our special pecu- 
liarities which come from more immediate causes 

are but the leaves, the fruitage that buds, blooms, 

, £ 11 '. 1 1 > • t>u Remote Factors 

ripens and falls away with each generation. 1 he Considered. 

special traits that differentiate each man from 

every other man constitute a very small per cent 

of his nature; but since the qualities that we all 

hold in common are comparatively fixed, while 

our individual traits are subject to change, we 

shall devote most of our time to the consideration 

of those facts and laws that bear directly upon 

acquired characteristics and the improvement of 

offspring. 

The factor of "planetary influences," however 
important, can hardly be intelligently presented 
in a limited space; I must, therefore, refer the 
reader who would make a study of this interest- 
ing branch of heredity to the standard works on 
astrology and solar biology. 

The planets indirectly influence human life. I 
am aware that many intelligent persons do not be- \^ z ^ u 
lieve this, but it is because they have not inves- 
tigated. A little reflection without even the slight- 
est knowledge of astrology or solar biology, 
should enable any one to see that the intimate re- 
lation of the several members of the solar sys- 
tem necessitates their exerting a marked influence 
upon one another, and thereby directly or indi- 
rectly affecting whatever life may exist upon a 
planet. 



104 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



The Solar 
System an 

Organism. 



Magnetic 
Relation of 
Planets. 



Effects of Planet 
ary Changes, 



The solar system is on organism; as truly so 
as is the human body. As every part of the hu- 
man body is dependent upon and influenced by 
every other part, so every planet is subjected to 
the influence of other planets. As man's body 
is surrounded by a magnetic aura, or personal 
magnetism, which influences every other person 
with whom he comes in contact, so every planet 
is surrounded by an electric or magnetic aura, 
which extends throughout space and influences 
every other planet. As the personal magnetism 
of men differ in strength and character accord- 
ing to the physical and mental constitution of the 
man, so the magnetic aura of planets vary with 
their composition, size, density, etc. Again, as 
in magnetic relation "like creates like/' so that 
the man whose life is pure, chaste, just, kind and 
unselfish tends to produce in all, similar condi- 
tions, while men of opposite natures produce oppo- 
site states in others; so the composition of some 
planets are such as to favor the activity of what 
we term the higher elements of man's nature, 
while others are conducive to the manifestation of 
the baser nature. Now, since the influence of a 
planet is determined in part by its size, density, 
chemical composition and nearness to the earth, 
and since the relation of the planets is continually 
changing, and since some are much more favor- 
able to intellectual and moral growth than others, 
therefore it follows as a natural consequence, that 
the position and relation of the several planets to 
our earth during the formative period of a child 
does, to a greater or less extent, modify its hered- 
ity. 



CHAPTER VII. 

PARENTAL ADAPTATION. 

In this chapter we shall study the laws of selec- 
tion and parental adaptation and see what mental 
and temperamental combinations are most favor- 
able to domestic happiness and the heredity of off- 
spring. 

Marriage is natural. It is essential to civiliza- Marriage is 
tion and the highest development of the indi- 
vidual. No life is, or can be, complete without 
its mate. No man or woman can accomplish in 
the highest degree the true aims of life without 
the association and mental co-operation of his or 
her soul mate. Moreover the possibility of giv- 
ing a good inheritance to offspring is determined 
not alone by the mental and temperamental at- 
tributes of the parents, but largely by their adapt- 
ability to each other. A husband and wife, who 
are each splendidly endowed physically and The Importance 
mentally, if unadapted may parent, even when 
other conditions are favorable, very inferior chil- 
dren; while a couple not so favorably endowed, 
but perfectly adapted, frequently parent children 
that are highly superior. This being true, the 
study of parental adaptation becomes an import- 
ant one, not simply to the student of heredity, but 
to all thoughtful persons who contemplate mar- 
riage and parentage. 



io6 f A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

True marriage is based, not alone upon admira- 
The Basis of tion, confidence and love, but upon mental and 

Marriage. 

temperamental adaptability. Marriage is (i) a 
psychological condition, a soul union; (2) a men- 
tal vow, a legal bond; and (3) a physiological 
fact, a sacred function. The first is essential to 
the health, happiness and soul growth of the in- 
dividual; the second is essential to the proper 
understanding of the contracting parties, the con- 
tinuity of the home and the maintenance and pro- 
tection of society ; the third is essential to the per- 
petuity of the race and evolution of man. These 

What .Constitutes three factors of marriage are all indispensable 
and therefore incomparable. The first is a holy 
expression of two souls ; the second is a natural 
outgrowth of the first, a legitimate human bond ; 
the third is a solemn duty and sacred privilege 
arising from the other two. Without the first 
condition there is no true marriage ; in its absence 

Legal Bondage, the second becomes a farce and the third a crime. 
Legal marriages based upon commercial interests, 
magnetic attraction, base desires and other un- 
worthy motives not only rob thousands of true 
domestic happiness, but cause them to parent 
nervous, inferior and even vicious children. 

Domestic inharmony materially affects off- 
spring. Maudesley says, "If there be indifference, 

Inharmony , . « ,• ■, • , 

Affects Offspring. 01 " repulsion, as happens sometimes where inter- 
est instead of affection makes a marriage, there 
cannot be that full and harmonious co-operation 
necessary to the best propagation. * * * In- 
sanity may be bred by unsuitable unions." 
Schopenhauer says, "The miserable conditions of 
the majority of men physically, mentally and mor- 






PARENTAL ADAPTATION. 107 

ally is due in some measure to the fact that mar- 
riages are not usually contracted by free choice, 
but through accidental circumstances." 

The search for the secret of adaptation in mar- 
riage and domestic bliss, like the search for the 
Philosopher's Stone and the Fountain of Eternal 
Youth, has been long and diligent. That every 
life has its counterpart, every soul its mate, its The Search fo* 
other self, which if found would make life com- a aw * 
plete, "love law and duty a pleasure," is the testi- 
mony of every normal nature. How shall we 
find this counterpart? And how shall we know 
this, our soul mate, even should we find it, are 
questions that but few have been able to answer 
satisfactorily to themselves. It is highly prob- 
able that most of those who have been so fortu- 
nate as to find a companion whose life corres- 
ponded perfectly to their own are more indebted Finding a Mate, 
to chance association than to judgment or the ap- 
plication of the laws of adaptation. O. S. Fow- 
ler used to say that only one couple in ten were 
really well adapted; my own observations would 
hardly accord with this. In the careful study of 
over a thousand families, I have found most of 
them fairly well mated and comparatively happy ; 
yet it is a sad fact that many excellent persons do 
fail to find in their companions that perfect re- 
sponse, that oneness of thought, feeling and de- 
sire, that the soul demands and that a perfect 
adaptation should give. 

The degree of adaptability varies with indi- 
viduals. Some are so constituted that their adapt- 
ability is very limited. It is questionable whether 
any one could be found who would form their 



io8 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Degrees of 

Adaptability. 



Looking for the 
Impossible. 



complete counterpart. Such complex, eccentric 
natures are seldom happy in marriage and are not 
apt to give a very favorable inheritance to chil- 
dren. Others are so harmoniously developed, 
both mentally and temperamentally, that they 
have a very wide range of adaptability. They 
can be happy and companionable with any one 
they love, adapting themselves perfectly to the 
disposition of the companion. Such wide range 
of adaptability, however, is rare. Most persons 
are adapted to only a few, and must find their 
counterpart if they are to be reasonably happy in 
domestic life or parent children who are well 
born. 

Many are disappointed in their domestic life 
because they are looking for the impossible. The 
romantic dreams of the idealist can never be 
fully realized until human nature has outgrown 
its selfishness. So long as people are imperfect 
and unhappy within themselves it is irrational to 
expect undisturbed bliss in their domestic rela- 
tions. The association in the bond of wedlock of 
a man and a woman, both of whom are imperfect 
and incapable of satisfying themselves, cannot 
produce a heaven on earth. 

"The happiest and the wisest pair, 

Will find occasion to forbear, 
And something every day they live 

To pity, and perhaps forgive." 
While perfection is impossible to mortals in any 
Sphere of life, there is a possibility that every 
fairly well organized man or woman will find a 
companion whose temperament, desires, ambi- 
tions, likes and dislikes will harmonize so nearly 



PARENTAL ADAPTATION. 109 

with his or her own as to make marriage a suc- 
cess, life happy and parentage a blessing. 

Fixed laws govern all things in nature. No 
doubt there are laws that control natural affini- Natural 
ties and adaptations. It is questionable, how- 
ever, how fully these laws can be discerned and 
applied in the present condition of society. Sages, 
scientists and philosophers for centuries have been 
trying to formulate some definite rule that would 
be an infallible guide to the selection of a com- 
panion. The early philosophers considered adapt- 
ation largely from a physiological point of view, 
while writers of more recent date place special 
stress upon mental affinity. Experience proves that 
both are essential to continued happiness and the 
well being of offspring. 

Again, the question of adaptation has been sub- 
jected to much discussion on account of the dif- 
ferences of opinion among sociologists as to what 
constitutes the primary object of marriage. Some Adaptation. 
hold the propagation of the race to be the primary 
object, and, reckoning from this point of view, 
adaptation is determined by whatever is most 
favorable to this end. Others affirm that the 
happiness and development of the contracting 
parties are the primary objects of marriage, and 
therefore hold that congeniality is the true basis 
of adaptation. Fortunately these two points of 
view are not as far apart as they would seem, 
for observation and experience indicate that the 
mental and temperamental union most conducive 
to the continued health and happiness of the hus- 
band and wife is also most favorable for their 
offspring. 



i io A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

Students of adaptation in marriage have sug- 
Thfee Rules fcr gested three general, yet highly conflicting, rules 
for the selection of a life companion: (i) The 
law of opposites; (2) that like should marry 
like; and (3) the law of compliments, or that 
marriage should be between those whose physical 
and mental characteristics form the perfect coun- 
terpart of each other. 

Each of these rules has its advocates and oppo- 
nents ; no doubt all three have their application and 
limitation. Human nature is so varied that it 
is impossible to lay down any inflexible rule for 
N £l L ? W Ai? pI *" the regulation of any department of life that is 
equally applicable to all persons. In those attri- 
butes in which each individual differs from all 
others he must be a law unto himself; but wherein 
human nature is substantially alike it is possible 
to formulate general rules of life and conduct that 
are applicable to all. Again, since all men and 
women conform in their physical and mental char- 
acteristics to certain general types sufficiently to 
admit of classification, it is possible to formulate 
rules of adaptation applicable to them. 

Of the three rules suggested the law of comple- 
ments has by far the widest application, whether 
considered from a physiological or psychological 
point of view. The law of opposites and its anti- 
Unions. fa e thesis, that like should marry like, are applicable 
only to harmonious, well balanced temperaments. 
When persons endowed with any extreme phys- 
ical or mental characteristic marry those like 
themselves, or their extreme opposite, the results 
are invariably unfavorable to both parents and 
children. Illustrations of this fact may be seen 



PARENTAL AD APT A TION. 1 1 1 

in every community. Thus, a man with large 
bones, spare muscles, strong, angular features, 
indomitable will and courage, marries a woman 
who has a delicate, light physique, a sensititve, 
flexible individuality, and a timid, conformative 
nature. They are married, but not mated. They 
may be happy, but it is not the happiness that 
arises from a true marriage ; the wife becomes the 
typical "child-wife;" their lives do not blend. If MatTdf bUt ° 0t 
they become one, the husband is the one; the in- 
dividuality of the wife is completely lost in the 
husband whose individuality remains unchanged. 
The wife becomes the idol of his heart, to be 
petted, cherished and indulged like a much loved 
child, or scolded and driven like a chattel slave, 
according to the disposition of her husband. In 
either case it can hardly be called a union, and 
where the latter condition obtains it is sure to 
prove destructive to the mental growth and happi- 
ness of the wife, and should children be born their 
inheritance will be unfavorable. I have observed 
that children born from such unions show conclu- 
sively that the natures of their parents have not 
blended in their own. The boys are usually frail, c < ... f 
nervous, extremely sensitive, often precocious, Unmated 
but not well balanced; the girls are more apt to cnts * 
be awkward, uncouth and wanting in mentality. 
Both sexes frequently show a lack of individual- 
ity, self-reliance and independence of character. 

When persons having extreme temperamental 
or mental characteristics marry those like them- 
selves, the results are fully as unfavorable as when 
they marry their extreme opposites. For instance, 
when the husband and wife are both of a Nerv- 



112 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Should Like 
Marry Like ? 



The Law of 
Compliments* 



The Dream of 
the Sentimen- 
talist. 



ous Temperament (indicated by sharp features, 
quick motion, high-keyed voice, intense feelings, 
keen intellect, intensity and susceptibility) they 
will necessarily intensify each other's over-active 
mentality, are likely to overdo and are apt to irri- 
tate each other. Children born from such unions 
are usually delicate, frail and precocious. The 
same law applies with equal force to all specific 
mental qualities. Wherever any quality is very 
strong or very weak, the union with one who is 
the same or directly opposite frequently proves 
disastrous to domestic harmony in this particular ; 
moreover, what is a fault in both parents is liable 
to be exaggerated to a dangerous degree in the 
offspring. 

If persons are harmoniously developed mentally 
and temperamentally, experience indicates that 
they may marry with impunity those having a sim- 
ilar constitution, or those of marked extremes; 
but if one is a combination of extremes, the com- 
panion should be harmonious. As most persons 
have a few strong qualities and some weak ones, 
while the major part of their nature is mediocre, 
the law of complements is the safest to follow ; it 
is the only rule for those of extreme tempera- 
ments. When the extreme traits of one parent are 
modified by a moderate degree of the same qual- 
ities in the other, the children are usually favor- 
ably born. 

Sentimentalists, who consider love as the only 
requisite of marriage and parentage, are prone to 
overlook those physical and mental conditions 
upon which the continuity of love and the well 
being of offspring depend. The question is fre- 



PARENTAL ADAPTATION. 113 

quently asked, "If persons having like tempera- 
ments love each other fondly, why should they 
not marry? The answer is that while persons 
having like temperaments may become attached 
to each other as a result of association, they are 
seldom, if ever, well mated. For instance, a man 
and woman, each having a pronounced Motive 
Temperament (indicated by large bones, slim, 
compact muscles, tall, angular build, prominent ma J|jfes! 
brow, retreating forehead and high crown) 
through association fall in love, why should they 
not marry (1) Because persons so organized 
create constant opposition by their pronounced 
character. There will be two rulers, two indivi- 
dualities, each of whom is too decided to submit 
readily to the will of the other. As "like excites 
like," their association will tend to increase, rather 
than to diminish, their pronounced tendencies. 
(2) Children born from such a union usually Two Rulers in 
have an extreme development of what was the ^ ne Household, 
leading temperament in both parents, and are 
sadly deficient in the others ; even though the par- 
ents are perfectly healthy, the children generally 
show a lack of plumpness and vitality, are fre- 
quently awkward, homely and uncouth; and are 
usually prone to biliousness, liver trouble and 
rheumatism. Their mental endowment is seldom 
better than their physical. They rarely show any children from 
intelligence above the average, even though the Parents of Like 
parents are both superior. They are apt to be emperamens * 
willful, gloomy and unsociable. Should such a 
person select a companion having a more plump 
and symmetrical build and form, with a genial, 
sanguine, conformative nature, the chances for 



ii4 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

domestic happiness and the well-being of off- 
spring would be much greater. 

Temperamental The union of two persons of the Vital Tem- 
Reqmrements. r ■- 

perament (indicated by small bones, plump build, 

round face, sanguine complexion and a jolly, 
happy nature) is seldom productive of the best 
results. ( i ) Because they are sure to be too emo- 
tional, ardent, sanguine, impulsive and change- 
able. Their intellects are apt to be brilliant, rather 
than deep ; their sentiments more spasmodic than 
constant ; neither will have the governing ability 
or steadfastness necessary to the highest order of 
success. The feeling-nature of each being too 
strong, they are prone to burn out life's forces 
much faster than is necessary. (2) Children 
born from such a union are usually too sanguine. 
Sanguine° n ° sa dly wanting in bone and solidity of muscle, and 
Temperaments, they frequently have strong dropsical or scrofu- 
litic tendencies, even where the parents are per- 
fectly healthy. Their dispositions are character- 
ized by impulsiveness and a lack of energy, con- 
stancy, stability, moral courage and character. 
Their appetites are usually too strong, making 
them prone to intemperance and dissipation. Per- 
sons endowed with the strong Vital Temperament 
should select as companions those having more 
angularity in build, form and feature, individual- 
ity and stability of character ; such a combination 
would be more conducive to happiness and give to 
offspring both energy and vivacity, ardor and 
constancy, intellectual depth as well as brilliancy. 
The relative strength of the sex attribute — the 
masculinity in man and femininity in woman- 
play such an important part in marriage and par- 



PARENTAL AD APT A TION. 1 1 5 

entage that any couple to be well mated must form 
the counterpart of each other in these qualities. 
The law governing sex harmony may be stated in 
three general propositions : ( 1 ) Every man and 
woman is bi-sexual, that is to say, possesses both Adaption! 
the masculine and feminine attributes to a greater 
or less degree. The normal, well matured man 
is pre-eminently masculine, but has a strong, 
though passive, feminine nature. The normal 
well born matured woman is pre-eminently femi- 
nine, yet has a passive masculine nature. (2) The 
stronger and more active a woman's femininity 
is, the more she will be attracted to, attract, and 

be adapted to the truly masculine man. The Mwodtofcy and 

, . , ,. . Femininity, 

stronger and more active a man s masculinity is 

the more he will be attracted and the better he 
will be adapted to the purely feminine woman. 
(3) In proportion as woman loses her femininity 
and becomes masculine she loses her attractive- 
ness and adaptability to strong, masculine men, 
and becomes attracted and adapted to effeminate 
men. In proportion as man becomes effeminate 

he loses his attractiveness and adaptability to the T te ^ w of 

- r . . . . x J Attraction. 

truly feminine woman, and becomes attractive 

and adapted to the masculine woman. These 
three propositions contain the basal principles of 
sex adaptation, and explain many of the incon- 
gruities and seeming contradictions worked out in 
all society. 

Sex adaptation is highly important both for the 
sake of harmony in the family and the heredity of 
children. The experience of many mismated 
couples proves that wherever the husband and 
wife are both either strongly masculine or strong- 



n6 



"A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Masculine 
"Women and 
Feminine Men. 



Discernment of 
Adaptation. 



ly feminine, discord prevails and their children 
are seldom, if ever, well born. The truly mascu- 
line man cannot endure a positive, masculine wo- 
man; while a truly feminine woman abhors an 
effeminate man; therefore, sex adaptation re- 
quires that the husband and wife shall form the 
counterpart or complement of each other. 

The degree of masculinity and femininity in 
any given person is difficult to determine, but the 
following suggestions will serve as a guide, both 
in estimating the strength of the sex attribute and 
the degree of adaptability between any given pair : 
(i) The truly masculine man and feminine wo- 
man are invariably attractive, magnetic, emo- 
tional, ardent, affectionate, responsive and highly 
agreeable to the opposite sex. Their company 
is always in demand. The way in which they will 
express their affections and the class of people 
they will attract, or be attracted to, will of course 
be determined by other qualities in their disposi- 
tions and their conditions in life; but whether 
refined or gross, cultured or illiterate, they will 

-. ., wield an influence that those wanting in this at- 

FamilyResem- f 

blances a Key to tribute never can. (2) Women who resemble 
Adaptation. their fathers are usually — but not always — mas- 
culine, and therefore should marry men who re- 
semble their mothers, and vice versa. In hun- 
dreds of observations made I do not recall a 
single instance where the husband and wife both 
strongly resembled the father or both the mother 
in which the union was truly happy or their chil- 
dren really well born. 

Soul harmony is the most important factor of 
parental adaptation. Lying back of all physical 



PARENTAL AD APT A TION. 1 1 7 

externals, temperamental conditions and object- 
ive mentality, there is a subjective nature, an Soul Harmony, 
independent entity, called the soul, which must 
be mated if marriage is to be complete and chil- 
dren well born. 

The basis of soul-harmony lies back of all phy- 
siological and temperamental conditions. It is 
impossible, therefore, to judge wholly from ex- 
ternal appearances who are, and who are not, well 
mated. Those whose souls are calculated to form 
a perfect union are often drawn together by a 
natural affinity that is inexplicable on the basis 
of objective appearances or mentality. Their sub- 
jective minds readily communicate with each 
other, producing a perfect understanding with 
scarcely a word ; there is a telepathic commimica- Love's 
Hon that enables them to feel each other's condi- an 2 aa £ c * 
tions, longings, joys and sorrows. Truly, the soul 
has a language whereby it expresses its yearnings 
to its mate; a language that can never be trans- 
lated into words, yet forms a perfect means of 
communication. Where natures are not in soul- 
harmony they are often unable to understand 
each other, even with the aid of an attorney ! 

Sameness of texture, or organic quality is the 
principal requisite for a high degree of soul har- 
mony between two natures. Mental and tempera- The Basis of 
mental adaptability and strong, active affections ou afmon y- 
are also essential, but two natures to come into per- 
fect rapport with each other must be keyed alike. 
Variations in organic quality are observable 
throughout all nature, even among members of 
the same class or species. Some trees are fine 
grained, others are coarse; high grade animals 



1 1 8 "A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

are fine grained, while those of low grade are 

coarse; some people are fine grained and have a 

Organic Quality sensitive, delicate fiber, while others are coarse 
in .Nature* 

grained and less highly animated. The texture 

of the physical organism indicates the character, 
or quality, of the resident life. The simpler and 
lower the grade of life, the simpler and coarser 
the physical organism. As the grade of life is im- 
proved in any class, the organic quality will be- 
come correspondingly finer. The more highly 
organized the psychic nature, the finer will be the 
texture of the physical organism. As is the tex- 
ture, or quality, of the soul, so will be its vibra- 
tions, or thought-waves. If the nature's high- 
keyed the person will be very intense, enjoy and 
suffer to an extreme, will be sensitive to impres- 
sions and susceptible to telepathic influences. 

Soul Vibrations. Where the organism is simple, coarse and less 
complex the opposite conditions obtain. The 
former will live, enjoy and suffer more in one 
minute than the latter will in two; because the 
vibrations of the soul — upon which all sensation 
and consciousness depend — are so much faster. 
Persons representing these two extremes can 

Why Some Can- never come en rapport because the vibrations of 

not Understand their natures are so different that neither can 
Each Other. . . 

receive telepathically, the thoughts, feelings or 

sensations of the other. Other things being equal, 
the nearer two persons are alike in organic qual- 
ity the greater the possibility of soul harmony. 

When there is great difference in the organic 
quality of the husband and wife it is seldom that 
they are happy in their domestic relations, or that 
their children show a complete blending of the 



PARENTAL ADAPTATION. 119 

parental natures. I have observed many in- 
stances where other conditions of adaptation were 
highly favorable, and in almost every case the JJJ att pjf s '£ at Do 
children seemingly partook of the peculiarities 
of one parent only. In some instances where the 
sex-nature and individuality of both parents were 
strong, the children were seemingly a combina- 
tion of the parents, having some qualities of body 
and mind decidedly like the father's and others 
like the mother's. Even the texture of the hair 
varies, part of it being fine and soft, and part 
coarse and wiry. The child was not a blending 
of its parents, but a composite organism made up 
of the distinctive peculiarities of both parents. S^P " 16 
Children so constituted usually manifest great 
inconsistencies and contradictions in character. 
They not infrequently possess marked talent and 
genius in special directions, but invariably lack 
the all-round strength and mental harmony of 
the well-born. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SEX POTENCY. 

Sex Potency — Or, the factor of heredity aris- 
ing from the strength, adaptability and union of 
the masculine and feminine principles in the 
father and mother. 

The sex attribute is the most subtle power in 
human life and heredity. It is as much a mystery 
as is life itself. Rev. Robert Mclntyre, D. D., 
once said to me, "When you fathom the mystery 
ofSex. ySCfy anc * comprehend the significance of sex, you will 
be able to explain the whole phenomena of na- 
ture from the lowest creature to the Infinite God. 
* * * I believe that even the Godhead is fem- 
inine as well as masculine, and that these attrib- 
utes extend into the lowest forms of life." He 
might have said with equal assurance, even to 
the crudest of inorganic matter. 

The sex element is the creative principle resi- 
dent in all nature. The masculine and feminine 
The Creative attributes are the constituent parts of life — the 
nncipeo elements from which life is formed. This state- 
ment applies not only to organism and function 
but to each propensity, feeling, faculty and senti- 
ment of the human soul. Every expression of 
life in the whole realm of nature is the product 
of the union and co-operation of the masculine 



SEX POTENCY. 121 

and feminine principles. Every new thought born 
in the brain, every idea created, is a child of these 
elements. No man or woman lacking in mascu- 
linity or femininity is ever highly original. 

Frances Willard once said, "I believe in the 
dignity and divinity of sex ; in the free discussion 
of whatever pertains to the nature of man or is 
essential for his well being." Surely the discus- 
sion of no subject is more essential to man's well 
being than the subject of sex. It is the all-creat- 
ing, directing and controlling factor in every life. 
In youth it is a veritable fountain of life, a bub- 
bling spring of joy, a rippling brooklet that is con- 
tinually singing the enchanting song of love. In Spring of Joy. 
maturity it is a broad, deep river, a mighty cur- 
rent of strength that flows on continually, sweep- 
ing away every obstacle and bearing on its bosom 
the burdens of life. In old age it is a tranquil 
lake, a sun-kissed sea, on whose placid surface are 
mirrored the soul's past joys and sorrows, its 
clouds of despondency and its stars of hope.. 

The sex attribute in man seemingly has three . 
great functions to perform : ( 1 ) it develops and The Three 
perfects the individual man or woman ; ( 2 ) it be- Functions °* Sex - 
comes the subtle power that draws them together 
and unites them in the holy bonds of wedlock ; ( 3 ) 
it combines in their lives to create a new life. In 
the performance of these three great functions in 
human life the element of sex is of supreme im- 
portance. In proportion to its strength, other InfIuence of ^ 
things being equal, will these three functions be Power, 
well performed. Without it no person ever de- 
velops into noble manhood or womanhood. With- 
out it no man or woman ever becomes truly mag- 



122 r A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

netic, loving, attractive, or capable of being at- 
tracted. Without it no couple ever parent strong, 
hale, bright, well-born children. 

In early life if the element of sex be strong and 

wisely directed it is rapidly utilized in the economy 

The Develop- of nature, in the development of the boy or girl 

mentof Manhood i nto we H-rounded maturity. It is in reality the 
and womanhood r -t-r i • r ■ • ■ 

essence of life, and if retained in the organism 

will give strength and power to every function, 
faculty and sentiment. It rounds out the physical 
development, gives solidity and plumpness to the 
muscles, elasticity to the step, animation to the 
expression, vigor to the energies, keenness to the 
intellect, vivacity to the emotions, ardor to the af- 
fections, courage to the convictions and indivi- 
duality, independence and stability to the char- 
acter. 

The potency of sex in the development and 
maintenance of physical strength, mental vigor 
Kings and and moral courage can scarcely be appreciated 

Society. * n ^ e P resent state of society. The almost uni- 

versal dissipation of this element, in one way or 
another, in married life as well as in indiscreet 
youth, leaves no true standard by which to esti- 
mate the power of this element were it wholy di- 
rected to the normal functions of life. There are 
thousands, it is true, who do not intentionally mis- 
direct this force, and as a result, if well endowed 
by heredity, they become kings and queens in so- 
ciety, specimens of true manhood and woman- 
hood ; but even these are not what they might have 
been had their ancestors acted as wisely. 

Rev. Dr. Hunter, in referring to this subject in 
his splendid book on "Manhood, Wrecked and 



SEX POTENCY. 123 

Rescued," says: "There are specimens of man- 
hood whom we cannot pass on the street without 
admiration ; we involuntarily turn round and look 
at them as they move on with the tread of a giant. X lttiie } s itsown 
There are kings of the stage, the platform, the 
pulpit, the bar and the senate, who need but to 
speak and stand erect, when all eyes are riveted 
and all hearts are carried away into a sweet cap- 
tivity. These men inherited noble forms and high 
intellectual faculties and have lived in obedience 
to natural law." 

The indications of degeneracy observable in 
most families in all civilized countries is generally 

conceded to be due largely to the misdirection and Supreme Cause 

01 X^epenefcicv 
dissipation of the sex attribute. A volume the 

size of this might be filled easily with quotations 
from the best authorities of Europe and Amer- 
ica showing the effects of these abuses upon the 
physical, mental and moral life of the race. There Few Know- 
are thousands of men and women in every busi- ties# elr 0SSI 1 
ness vocation and calling in life, who will never 
know the heights to which they might have risen 
nor the soul growth they could have enjoyed had 
they wisely directed their forces to the develop- 
ment of their higher natures. 

The ancient Egyptians taught that the sex prin- 
ciple was the essence of eternal life, that so long 
as it was wisely directed, converted into brain and 
brawn, man enjoyed the blessed privilege of per- 5^^ 
petual youth. Finally, through the seductive 
power of some evil spirit, presumably "the old 
Serpent," man became unchaste. As a result of 
this sin and the dissipation of the essence of life, 
men began to grow old and the penalty of death 



124 'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

fell upon them. With the continued dissipation 
of this force the length of man's life became 
shorter and shorter, his physical stature grew less 
and less, until the degenerate race became an 
abomination unto the Lord. 

How much of truth there may be in this ancient 
tradition concerning the period when man enjoyed 
perpetual youth, we know not ; but history vindi- 
Tradition Agree. cates tne claim that man's days have gradually 
been shortened, his physical stature lessened and 
his spiritual perception degenerated almost to ex- 
tinction. Science, too, has in recent years be- 
come a witness to the validity of the ancient tra- 
dition. Every up-to-date scientist in Europe and 
America has abandoned the old idea of man's 
"physical necessities," that for centuries was an 
excuse for his dissipation, and now they declare 
with one accord that the highest degree of phy- 
sical, mental and moral development is attained 
most easily by a life of absolute chastity. 

Sex power, if retained in the system during 

youth and adult life, is converted into magnetism, 

, vitality, energy, vivacity, memory, creative fancy, 
A Hint to tiie . . ., . . . .. , 

Wise. originality, aspiration, moral courage, sympathy, 

life, manhood and womanhood. A hint to the 

wise is sufficient. He who would improve any 

attribute of body, mind or soul and wield the 

scepter of power ; who would feel in mature years 

the buoyancy of youth, should learn and obey 

the law of sex. He who would thrill with the 

power of magnetism and inspire others with its 

subtle force; who would realize the romance of 

love and the poetry of an ardent soul ; who would 

feel ambition "mount from weird earth to vaulted 



SEX POTENCY. 125 

sky" and know the potency of noble aspirations, 
should retain the sex force within his being. He 
who would be able to reason clearly and compre- 
hend readily ; who would vibrate with another's Z^ e **? C y * °L 
sympathy and feel another's woe; who would 
know what it is to be a free man and have that 
moral courage that "will not bear a feather's 
weight of slavery's chain for small or great;" who 
would stand in the presence of God and man an 
uncrowned king — resplendent with the glories of 
human achievement, conscious of the divinity 
there is in him — "let him deny himself" and fol- 
low the Christ in a life of chastity. 

The second expression of the sex element that 
we shall consider is its manifestation in the form 
of personal magnetism, passion and love. Mag- Deffnedf m 
netism may be defined briefly as a vibratory ex- 
pression of force that radiates from a person in 
consequence of the chemical changes in the body 
and the combustion or explosion of cells in the 
brain and nerve ganglia. 

The personal magnetism of a person is both 
voluntary and involuntary. The former is purely 
the product of brain action, which corresponds in 
strength and character to the strength and activity inv^iJSry ° 
of the elements of mind from which it springs and Magnetism. 
is as subject to the control of the will, as is any 
other manifestation of the mind. The latter corre- 
sponds to the chemical organization and the in- 
voluntary life of the person ; it is in no sense under 
the control of the will, and changes only as the 
vitality increases or diminishes. 

Silent forces rule the world. The power of a 
man's life for good or evil is determined, not so 



126 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

much by what he says, as by what he is. The law 
of magnetic influences shows why this is so. 

I^'IT jj Voluntary magnetism, being but a radiation of 
thought waves, corresponds in strength and char- 
acter to the mentality that produces it. Cold in- 
tellectual thinking produces an intellectual mag- 
netism; emotionality, emotional magnetism; 
virtuous or vicious thoughts, feelings or desires 
produce a corresponding radiation; hence, as one 
thinks and feels, so will be his voluntary magnet- 
ism. Now, since "like excites like/' one's in- 
fluence over others for good or evil necessarily 
corresponds to his inner thoughts, feelings and 
desires. The significance of this fact is worthy 
of the most profound consideration. 

The sex attribute produces a magnetism pecu- 
liar to itself that is highly potential in its influence 
over the mentality. It supplies to the whole or- 

Ch^acte^ 1 ganism what the batteries supply to the telephone 
or telegraph wire. As a charged wire is a much 
better conductor of force or vibratory waves than 
an uncharged, so the person whose sex nature is 
strong and normally active is always magnetic. 
Every feeling, emotion and sentiment has a cer- 
tain vivacious thrill that is never found in the 
poorly sexed or in those whose powers have been 
weakened. 

That subtle power called "personal magnetism" 
which enables the reader, singer, actor, or public 

Eloquence! ° speaker to captivate and hold, to sway and control 
an audience, is largely a product of the sex ele- 
ment. Those who are strongly endowed with this 
attribute put an expression into their work and 
exert an influence over an audience that those who 



SEX POTENCY. 127 

lack it never can. Their own great creative power 
enables them to create thoughts, feelings and emo- 
tions in others. There is a peculiar thrill to the 
voice of the singer, a burning pathos in the ex- 
pression of the orator that is well sexed, that can- 
not be duplicated by any amount of elocutionary 
training. 

Persons vary greatly in the strength of their 
personal magnetism. Some men and women are 

• Power of Per- 

so poorly sexed that they seem utterly wanting in sona lMagnetism. 
magnetic power; they neither attract nor are at- 
tracted. They may be highly cultured, good look- 
ing, moral, and otherwise endowed with many 
excellent qualities, yet they are not popular with 
the opposite sex and the world wonders why. It 
is one of those mysteries wherein Nature pro--, p 
claims her wisdom by denying the power of at- claims Her 
traction to those who are not well qualified for^^ Qmt 
marriage or parentage. Observation proves that 
such persons are not very companionable, are sel- 
dom happy in married life, and never parent well- 
born children. Others who are very strongly en- 
dowed with the sex attribute are highly attract- 
ive and are frequently attracted to a great variety 
of persons. They seem to have a very wide range 
of adaptability. A lady so constituted will be the Magnetism, 
choice of twenty men, no two of whom have sim- p ^^fee 
ilar likes or tastes in other matters, and yet each 
will insist that she forms his perfect counterpart. 
Strongly masculine men are always favorites 
among the ladies, even though they may be home- 
ly, awkward, illiterate and even dissipated. They 
are chosen in preference to those who are highly 
superior in other ways, but wanting in this all- 
essential element. 



128 



'A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Objective and 

Subjective 

Affinity. 



Love between the sexes is an expression of life 
that springs from the activity of the sex nature. 
From this it must not be understood that sex love, 
or magnetic attraction, constitutes the only bond 
of love between the sexes. Love, like all other 
feelings, faculties and sentiments, is dual in its 
Dualit/oFLove. nature - There is an objective love and a subject- 
ive love; a carnal affection and a soul affection. 
The former is a manifestation of the physical ; the 
latter of the spiritual nature of man. The object- 
ive, or physical, love, bears the same relation to 
the sex element that light bears to electricity. It 
is sex expressed as mind. It is strong or weak in 
proportion as the sex nature is strong or weak. 
The physical love develops with the increase of 
sex power in youth, is strongest in maturity, rises 
and falls with the vitality or animal vigor and 
wanes in old age. The subjective phase of love, 
being an expression of the soul, is not subject 
to physical conditions or changes ; is not governed 
or affected by physical appearance, but is depend- 
ent upon soul harmony. Its action produces an 
insatiable longing for soul sympathy and compan- 
ionship. When once it has met and united with 
its mate it will neither diminish nor relinquish its 
attachment, even with the ravages of time or the 
decay of the temple. 

In every well organized person both the object- 
The Love of ive and subjective phase of love exists. The ob- 
Men and Women j ec ti V e usually predominates in man, and the sub- 
jective in woman. Both are highly essential to 
health, harmony, happiness and the propagation 
of the species. The abnormal expression of the 
objective, or physical, love usually leads to sen- 



Differ. 



SEX POTENCY. 129 

suality and the desecration of the marital rights ; 

while the predominance of subjective love in the 

absence of the other invariably makes one unduly 

sentimental. 

Where the husband and wife differ much in the 

character of their affections marriage is usually a 

r -, /^t 1 r • • 11 1 Magnetism and 

failure. 1 housanas of marriages, especially where Matrimony. 

the association of the contracting parties has been 

brief, are based largely, or wholly, on magnetic 

attraction and objective love, there being no real 

soul union. Even where the contracting parties 

are perfectly honest it is extremely difficult for 

them to determine the character of each other's 

affections. 

The subtle passion between the sexes exerts a 
controlling influence over all the other feelings, 
faculties and sentiments. Where it is wisely di- 
rected it is most ennobling. It is the basis of chiv- Life, 
airy ; it has been the principal inspiration of many 
of the most heroic deeds in history; it has also 
been the prime factor in much of the world's vice, 
and has caused the commission of the darkest 
crimes in all ages. Where this feeling is strong 
and active it subordinates every other power to 
the gratification of its own desires ; it makes and 
unmakes character; it is highly misleading to 
judgment, blinding the eyes of the most rational 
and silencing every voice that would oppose it. 

Because of the subtle controlling power of ob- 
jective love many marriages are based largely or Lj>ve versus 
entirely upon magnetic attraction. Such unions Attraction. 
may develop into a true soul harmony ; but where 
they fail to do so the results are most unfortu- 
nate. Too frequently those who marry in haste 



130 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



Affections. 



under the influence of a magnetic spell find them- 
selves yoked for life to a nature that is positively 
foreign to every element of their being. Unfortu- 
nate as is this condition, it is not always avoidable : 
( i ) Because we have no infallible rule for deter- 
mining the character of a person's love; and (2) 
because very few persons are able to exercise a 
normal judgment when influenced by the seduct- 
ive power of their own and another's affections. 

In attempting to determine the character of 
one's affections the following suggestions will 
_ ± . . x , prove helpful to those who have the self-control 

Determining the r r 

Character of the to apply them: (1) Magnetic power and phys- 
ical love increase by nearness and frequency of 
association, and diminish in proportion as the 
parties are separated by time and distance ; while 
subjective love, or soul affinity, is quite as strong 
when widely separated from its object for months 
or even years as when intimately associated. Dif- 
ference, not distance, separates souls. When a 
soul has once met its mate and a union is formed, 
neither time nor space can dissolve that union. 

(2) Magnetic power and objective love rise and 
fall with the physical conditions and readily make 
new attachments in the absence of the former 
mate, while subjective love is not modified by 
physical changes, and rarely forms a second union. 

(3) The two phases of love often stand in direct 
opposition to each other, one being perfectly satis- 
fied and the other very dissatisfied. Where a 
union is complete these contradictions never exist. 

More than one young lady has said to me that 
when she is absent from her fiance she does not 
fully respect him ; he does not reach her ideal ; he 



"What Separates 
Souls. 



SEX POTENCY. 131 

is not the kind of a man she would admire as a 

brother or father, yet when she is with him his Contradictory 

. reelings 

presence removes all objections, and she cannot Explained 
understand this contradiction in her feelings. The 
explanation is simple ; the attraction between them 
is magnetic and physical, not spiritual. Were 
they really soul mates, his absence would increase, 
rather than diminish, her admiration. Sometimes, 
though more rarely, the reverse is true. There 
are occasionally soul affinities that cannot endure 
each other's personality. I have met a number of 
couples who were seemingly perfectly happy and 
contented in each other's affections when separa- 
ted, yet quite miserable when together. 

To apply practically the foregoing facts it 
would be well for a couple who contemplate en- 
gagement to separate for a few weeks, or even £ Poetical 
a few months, and communicate with each other 
only at long intervals. If, when thus separated 
and associated with other company of a pleasing, 
agreeable character the inner self holds to its mate 
with undiminished interest and feels no disap- 
pointment or unsatisfied longing when contem- 
plating the companion, it is fairly safe to presume 
that the attachment is more than a mere magnetic 
spell. If, however, the absent lover feels that 
there it something wanting in the companion, 
something that he or she does not like, something 
repellent about the personal^, all of which van- 
ishes when they are brought together, it is a pretty 
sure indication that their attraction is largely mag- 
netic and that they are not well mated. 

Most engagements are made under conditions 
that preclude the application of the foregoing sug- 



132 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

gestions. Cupid knows no law but his own de- 
sire, and refuses to be dictated to by sober thought 
or calm reflection. Contracts made by lovers 
while under the magnetic spell of each other are 
as dangerous as a leap in the dark. Those who 
desire to be true to their soul's best interests, or 
Aright. who value their own and the companion's happi- 

ness should never make or accept a proposal in 
the presence of the loved one. Before making 
the final decision it is far better to separate for a 
season and divert the attention from the loved 
one to business, travel or study until the magnetic 
influences are overcome and the ardor of love has 
subsided ; then by communing with the inner soul 
a comparatively safe decision can be made. 

The three expressions of the sex nature that 
we have considered as magnetism, subjective and 
objective love, constitute the trinity of the affec- 
tions and the affinity between the sexes. All three 

TE Thr -F Id are essen ti a l to a perfect union and the fulfilment 
Character of of the several purposes of wedlock. Where all 
**° vc * three phases of love are strong in both husband 

and wife, and they are otherwise well adapted to 
each other, we have that perfect blending of life 
with life that enables each to understand the other 
without a word, to feel — even though many miles 
apart — the mental, and often the physical, condi- 
A Perfect tions of the loved one. It is this perfect love, that 

Union. "takes away all fear," gives each absolute confi- 

dence in the other, makes each the all satisfying 
portion to the other, blends their natures into per- 
fect harmony and fills the cup of joy to overflow- 
ing. It is this perfect love that neutralizes all 
their differences, overcomes their naturally an- 



SEX POTENCY. 133 

tagonistic qualities and makes them one in 
thought, feeling and desire. It is this three-fold 
expression of the sex nature that establishes 
the complete union of soul with soul that alone 
makes marriage holy, love law, duty a pleasure 
and parentage divine. 

The supreme function performed by the attrib- 
ute of sex in the economy of nature is the creation Sex Potency and 
of a new life. Other things being equal, a man's Hercdlt y« 
power in fatherhood, and a woman's power in 
motherhood is determined by the strength of the 
sex nature. This statement applies not only to 
the transmission of the general constitution of the 
man or woman considered as a whole, but to every 
vital function and element of mind. To illustrate : 
A man who is naturally very strong in mechanical 
ingenuity and but moderately strong in his mascu- 
linity will transmit his talent only to the extent 
of his masculinity. A mother whose superb artis- The Limitations 
tic or musical talent may be represented by 100, of ParentJlood * 
but whose femininity is deficient or exhausted so 
that it is represented by, say 60, will, other things 
being equal, transmit only 60 per cent of her talent 
to her offspring. Hence, very superior parents 
who are poorly sexed frequently parent very in- 
ferior children; or the special talent peculiar to 
the life of the father or mother frequently fails 
to appear in the offspring because of a deficient or 
exhausted sexuality. 

Great men seldom parent sons who are their The Sons of 
equals. Even in America we have many instances Great Men * 
where men by their own innate genius and energy 
have won honor, fame, or fortune, yet their sons 
having every advantage, are unable to nearly sus- 



i 3 4 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

tain the high record made by the father. Doubt- 
less, the principal cause of this is found in the fact 
that the mother, and her parental conditions, de- 
termine largely the genius of the man; yet, no 
doubt, the ceaseless toil of the great man, in many 
instances, has so exhausted his nerve force in mind 
and thought, as to greatly diminish his power to 
reproduce his genius. 

Where the sex attribute is stronger in parents 
than their other qualities, Ihe children are almost 
r _ invariably superior to the parents. Almost every 

ior to the Parents community has illustrations of this fact. There are 
many families where the father is simply an ener- 
getic mechanic, or business man, with no marked 
peculiarities or indications of superior mentality 
— just a positive, manly, masculine man — the 
mother a whole-souled, sociable woman with 
strong feelings, emotions and sympathy, but no 
special literary taste; is in no sense talented, but 
simply a good, genial, motherly, womanly woman ; 
yet their children are exceptionally bright and 
develop talents far superior to those possessed by 
either parent. The history of the world is made 
up largely of men and women who have sprung 
from a like condition and combination. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DUAL PARENTAGE. 

Dual Parentage. — Or, the factor of heredity 
resulting from the combination of nationalities 
and families; from bisexual parentage and the 
union and interblending of the physical and men- 
tal qualities of parents in offspring. 

In the evolution of all forms of life the crossing 
and consequent combining of the various classes 
and the uniting of the qualities of two parents in and Evolution, 
the offspring, has been one of the most potent fac- 
tors in the multiplication of varieties, the differ- 
entiation of species and the evolution of life. The 
division of the sex element is thought by many 
to be the result of a demand for greater variation. 
Whether this be true or not, it is certainly one of 
the greatest causes of variation. Dr. Jordan ob- f 

serves, "It is the fact of bi-sexual parentage that Bi-sexual 
makes of each individual not simply an 'elongation Parentage, 
or continuance of the parent,' but a new life which 
shall be the resultant of the lives and experiences 
of its ancestors, a mosaic of the characters of its 
parents and its parents' parentage. By the fact 
of sex no individual can be the mere slavish copy 
of any other. Through the operation of sex the 
law of heredity which is to promote sameness is 
made subservient to the equal need of the promo- 
tion of variety." 



136 A CHILD OF LIGHT, 

The combining of races and tribes has been one 
of the supreme factors in the development of civi- 
The Three Great Hzation and in the formation of nations. The 
Aryan race from time immemorial led in the plant- 
ing of new nations and ever stood for power and 
progress ; the Semitic race gave us the three great 
religions, Jewish, Christian and Mohammedan; 
the Hamitic race gave rise to learning and science ; 
from a combination of these three has sprung the 
many-sided civilization of the world. The ming- 
ling of the Franks and Normans brought about 
by the marriage of the Duke of Normandy, Rollo, 
to the daughter of the Frankish king, and the sub- 

The Combining se quent intermarriages of these races formed the 

of Races. ^ T T 1 • 1 i 1 • 1 

new Norman race. It combined the daring and 

adventurous spirit of the old Scandinavian war- 
riors with the higher civilization of the Franks, 
producing a people destined to play a leading role 
in the subsequent history of all Europe. The inter- 
marriage of the Ionians, Dorians and Spartans 
formed the pedestal of ancient Greece upon which 
arose her imperishable monuments of art and 
learning. It was the union of the Italian race 
(which was of Aryan stock) with the Gauls, 
Pelasgians, Etruscans and Iapygians that created 
the nucleus of the Roman Empire and gave birth 
to the man of iron — the conqueror of the world. 

The Formation ^ was ^ e un ^ on °f tne refined, art-loving Celts 
of Nationalities, with the sturdy, aggressive, cruel Saxons, Angles 
and Jutes that formed the Anglo-Saxon race, and 
gave to England her combination of power and 
beauty, aggressiveness and policy, sturdiness with 
true refinement, prosaic manner yet poetic senti- 
ment. It is the interblending and combining of 



DUAL PARENTAGE. 137 

all races, nationalities and peoples in the United 
States that produces the complex, progressive 
character of its people and is destined to make it 
the greatest nation on earth. 

The potency of dual parentage as expressed in 
the origin of species and the multiplication of rac- The Blending of 
ial and national peculiarities is also manifest in am y raits * 
each individual member of a family. Every child 
is the product of a double line of ancestors. In 
each of its parents there is the accumulation of 
the evolution of the species, plus racial and na- 
tional characteristics, plus the family peculiarities. 
Now, in the creation of a new life, these complex 
organizations unite, thereby producing in the child 
a nature more complex than that of either parent. 
By this combining of the sexes the offspring be- 
comes a compound of its parents ; it not only pos- Every Child a 

, , 1 j j.1 1 • 1 1 Compound of Its 

sesses to a greater or less degree the physical and p aren t s . 

mental characteristics of both parents, but be- 
cause of their union in its life it may, and usually 
does, possess many traits not found in either par- 
ent. 

The outworkings of the factor of dual parent- 
age are most easily discernible where morbid con- 
ditions have been united. Thus, scrofulitic taint 
in one parent and nervous irritability in the other 
frequently produce epileptic or feeble-minded off- Morbid"^ 
spring. Dyspepsia in one parent and consumption Conditions, 
in the other may produce general physical weak- 
ness in offspring. Alcoholism in one parent may 
combine with some morbid condition in the other 
in such a way as to produce idiocy, insanity, or 
the most vicious or criminal tendencies in off- 
spring. Because of the bi-sexual parentage the 



Results of Favor- 



138 A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

morbid conditions of either parent seldom appear 
in exact duplicate in the offspring ; moreover, the 
union frequently results in the production of con- 
ditions entirely unlike that in the parents. 

What has just been said of the union of morbid 
and pathological tendencies is fortunately equally 
true of all normal conditions. The physical 
strength as a whole or in any particular direc- 
abkUnionsr ' tion, and the mental and moral powers are alike 
subject to this law of dual parentage, and they are 
ever producing qualities in the offspring unlike 
those of either parent. Sometimes the results of 
these combinations are so markedly different from 
the parents as to seem almost incredible. At 

M , Iowa, the physicians brought me a little 

boy for psychological study who was exceptionally 
bright. All his powers of perception, memory 
and reason were extraordinary. This was dis- 
cernible not only in his school studies, but was 
also phenomenally marked in his studies of nature. 
The physicians assured me that he was a born 
genius. At the age of ten he was familiar with 
every form of life in his section of the country. 
He positively refused to play with other children, 
but spent every spare moment in the fields gather- 
ing specimens or in his room with the microscope. 
He read all books within his reach bearing upon 
natural history, and was ever eager to question 
any one who could give him a fact. There was 
nothing in either parent or in the ancestors, so 
far as the family history could be traced on either 
side, to produce such a superior mentality. I 
made a careful study of both parents. The father 
was very fine grained, sensitive, imaginative, 



A Born Genius* 



DUAL PARENTAGE. 139 

poetic, highly original but, impractical. The 
mother was well organized and of about the same 
organic quality, but had a directly opposite cast 
of mind ; extremely practical, keen of perception, 
intensely critical, and exceedingly nervous. Both 
parents were strongly magnetic, the father pro- 
nounced in his masculinity and the mother in her 
femininity. The boy was a strong combination 
of the two. He had the dreamy, original, inquir- 
ing turn of the father plus the practical traits of 
the mother, which made him a genius. He was 
not only unlike, but highly superior to either 
parent. 

Many vicious children are the product of un- 
fortunate combinations. A single case will serve 
to illustrate the law. I was recently called by a 

Bad Cnrmbma- 

prosecuting attorney to the court room to study iioas> 
a young man on trial for manslaughter. The boy 
was said to be of an excellent family, yet his brain 
form, irregular skull, facial expression and gen- 
eral physiognomy indicated hereditary criminal 
tendencies. The attorney assured me that a care- 
ful study of the family history failed to reveal any 
cause for his criminal psychology. The vicious The Formation 
tendencies being so strongly marked in the young °* a Criminal. 
man and yet absent from the family history led me 
to look for a bad combination or vicious maternal 
impressions. In studying the parents I found the 
father to be a strong, courageous, firm, positive, 
relentless character ; a pillar in the church, a strict- 
ly partisan politician, a strong friend, but a bitter, 
unforgiving enemy. The mother had a sanguine 
temperament, was highly emotional, quick tem- 
pered, a bundle of extremes with very little self- 



140 



A CHILD OF LIGHT. 



A Boy Vicious 
from Birth. 



Endless Variety 
Through Dual 
Parentage. 



Where Parental 
Natures Do Not 
Blend. 



control — a good woman when she was good, but 
a hurricane when she was angry. She would fly 
into a rage and abuse the best friend she had in 
the world, repent, shed tears of regret and make 
up the next day. The boy's brain form and mani- 
fest character was a combination of the two par- 
ents. From infancy he had shown the persistent, 
fearless, revengeful character of the father plus 
the nervous irritability and ungovernable temper 
of the mother. The young man is now serving a 
long sentence in a penitentiary. The family, I 
may add, was an inharmonious, unhappy one, and 
no doubt the bad maternal impressions that must 
have been made upon his life during prenatal de- 
velopment, had much to do with his criminal tend- 
encies. It would seem, however, that the com- 
bination resulting from this unfortunate union 
was the principal factor. 

The possibilities of dual parentage in the varia- 
tion of offspring are without limit. The sixty-five 
chemical elements, in their combinations, produce 
all the varied forms, substances, and organiza- 
tions of the physical universe. In like manner, 
the several vital functions and elements of mind, 
admit of endless combinations and in these com- 
binations may produce every shade and type of 
character observable in human life. 

It is not easy to define the law governing the 
union and blending of parental natures in off- 
spring. Some natures combine much more favor- 
ably than others. Some seem capable of favor- 
able combinations with many, others produce the 
best results only when associated with a tempera- 
ment peculiarly adapted to them. This subject I 



DUAL PARENTAGE, 141 

have treated at length in the chapter on Parental 
Adaptation. When the nature of the parents do 
not blend in the offspring, the child usually re- 
sembles one parent to a very marked extent, or, 
if the parents are about equal in strength, the child 
will be a composite of the strong characteristics of 
both parents, having most extreme and contradic- 
tory traits of character. 

The relative influence of parents upon offspring 
seems to depend largely upon two conditions : ( 1 ) Relative 
the strength of the sex attribute or virility ; p ar g^ e ° 
(2) the individuality of the parent. Other things 
being equal the traits of character peculiar to the 
parent having the greatest sexual vigor will rule 
in the offspring ; but the influence of sex is modi- 
fied by the relative individuality of the two par- 
ents. Some families are much stronger of con- 
stitution, much more pronounced in their indivi- 
duality than others. Such stamp their peculiarities 
upon offspring generation after generation, deter- 
mining the principal traits of character for good 
or evil despite the influence of a less dominant par- 
ent. 

When the sex attribute and also the physical 

and mental constitution of the parents are of about _ ., 

1 1 t 1 ■ 1 r Family 

equal strength, the boys, with few exceptions, re- Resemblances. 

semble the mother in temperament, cast of intel- 
lect and aspiring sentiments, and the girls resem- 
ble the father in these same qualities. Almost all 
superior men are born from superior mothers, al- 
though many have had ordinary, and some very 
inferior fathers. Almost all women of marked in- 
telligence, heroism or strong individuality resem- 
ble their fathers. Rarely does even a superior wo- 



142 f A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

man parent a daughter anything like her equal 
when the father is inferior; on the other hand, 
great men's sons seldom rise much above the plane 
of the mother. 

What has just been said of the transmission of 
normal qualities is equally true of the transmis- 
Heredity. s ^ on °^ morbid tendencies. Any physical defect 

or abnormality is much more apt to pass from 
father to daughter or mother to son than other- 
wise. These facts indicate that the creative power 
of each parent is greatest in the production of the 
opposite sex. 



CHAPTER X. 

ATAVISM. 

Atavism — Or the law whereby latent forces — 
physical and mental characteristics peculiar to a 
species, family or individual — that have not been 
manifested for one or more generations, become 
active, thereby causing ancestral traits to reappear 
in offspring. 

Atavism is defined by the distinguished psy- 
chiatrist, D/ Von Kraftebings, as the law by which i^iT^ 
"the bodily and mental organization and charac- 
ter can be transmitted from the first to the third 
generation, without any necessity that the second 
and intermediate one should exhibit the peculiar- 
ities of the first." 

In natural history atavism is the reappearance 
in animals or plants of traits belonging to their 
remote progenitors that their immediate parents 
did not possess. The term has been used by some 
as synonymous with Darwin's "Reversion to type," 
indicating in this connection not only the occa- Atavism in 
sional or individual appearance of such remotely a ura IS ory * 
descendant traits, but the actual returning to them 
of a variety or species. "Domesticated animals," 
Darwin observes, "if allowed to run wild become 
nearly (though rarely exactly) like their wild an- 
cestors." 

Atavism as applied to man has been studied 



144 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT, 



Pathological 
Atavism, 



The Fact of 
Atavism. 



Pepper's 
Observations, 



mainly from a pathological point of view, and it 
signifies the reappearing of morbid conditions of 
distant ancestors not manifest in the immediate 
parents. Sir T. Watson in his lectures on "The 
Practice of Medicine," gives the following case 
as an illustration of pathological atavism: "A 
deaf mute man married a woman whose hearing 
was perfect and had two children by her ; one was 
a deaf mute son, who died childless, the other a 
hearing daughter, who married a hearing man 
and gave birth to two deaf mute daughters and a 
hearing son. The son married a woman who was 
also of good hearing, and had by her a deaf mute 
son; one of the daughters married a deaf mute 
and bore a hearing son." 

The fact of atavism is now generally admitted 
by the medical profession and all up to date stu- 
dents of heredity. The frequent appearance of 
physical and mental characteristics possessed by 
distant ancestors has forced all unbiased inves- 
tigators to admit that in some mysterious way 
qualities that have been absent for one, or even 
several, generations do occasionally reappear. Ac- 
cording to Pepper, "Gout, consumption, insanity, 
and other diseases frequently disappear for one, 
two or more generations in a family, and then re- 
turn in a manner evidently due to heredity, 
through interrupted or latent transmission." 
Anatomists occasionally find muscles and parts 
of organs that have been long extinct, though they 
were formerly possessed by the species. 

The law of atavism is not limited, as some have 
supposed, to physical and pathological conditions, 
but is applicable to all mental and moral attributes 



ATAVISM. 145 

as well. The importance of this fact can hardly 
be overstated. If it were more generally under- 
stood that physical and mental derangements that Family Traits 
have obtained in a family one, two or three gen- ea PP ear * 
erations back, even though absent in the present 
generation, are likely to reappear in the next, those 
contemplating marriage and parentage would cer- 
tainly use discretion in the selection of the com- 
panion. 

The causes of atavism have never been fully 
determined. My own thought is that use and dis- 
use and heredity are the principal ones. In the 
evolution and development of all physical and 
mental attributes use or exercise is the all-potent Ca USCS f 
factor. Change of environments, habits and con- Atavism, 
ditions in life produce new requirements that in 
turn develop new functions and characters ; func- 
tions and characters thus acquired become fixed 
in the species or family — fixed only in the sense 
that they represent the established order of life. 
With change of environment or condition the es- 
tablished order of life changes and functions pecu- 
liar to the old environment drop into disuse and 

finally become latent. In this latent state they Eff f^ °* Use 
J J and Disuse* 

are not manifest in the life or character of the 
species or family, but are transmitted, generation 
after generation, as a part of the fixed pattern of 
life, gradually becoming weaker and weaker until 
finally they may become extinct altogether. If, 
however, before the latent function or character 
becomes extinct there are conditions or exciting 
causes calculated to stimulate it, the ancestral 
trait may become manifest. Thus a morbid con- 
dition, such as insanity, kleptomania, cruelty or 



The Reappear- 



146 "A CHILD OF LIGHT. 

an appetite for strong drink, that has remained 
dormant for several generations may by some ex- 
citing cause be called into activity and reappear in 
the family. Morbid conditions of the brain are 
frequently transmitted for several generations 
without any outward manifestations of insanity; 
but should there come an over-strain on the nerv- 
ous ■ system or any other condition calculated to 
excite the abnormality, the morbid conditions be- 
come manifest. 

In like manner desirable qualities, aptitude for 
business, invention, science, art, music, religious 
fervor, etc., that from disuse, or some other cause 
ance of Genius, have dropped out of a family for several genera- 
tions, may be awakened by their proper stimuli 
and become active factors in the mentality and 
character of the individual. Thus the slumbering, 
dormant powers, both good and evil, within us, 
are ever becoming potential, modifying our lives. 
Heredity is another cause of atavism. Through 

- ~ . the law of dual parentage both physical and men- 
Effects of Dual - ,.. v ili- j 
Parentage. tal qualities are caused to disappear and reappear. 

As previously shown, each child is the product of 
the union of its parents ; each element of its mind, 
feeling, faculty or sentiment is a product of the 
masculine and feminine principles. Now, if a 
certain element be possessed by the father but not 
by the mother the masculine principle of this ele- 
ment will be transmitted to the child; but in the 
absence of the feminine principle to combine with 
it the trait will not be manifest in the mentality of 
the offspring. Thus any quality or family trait 
may become latent for one, two or more genera- 
tions. 



ATAVISM, 147 

In like manner the law of dual parentage may 
be most potential in calling latent qualities into 
action and re-establishing former conditions. For Combination of 

Latent Forces 

instance, if any morbid condition, element of ge- 
nius, or trait of character peculiar to a family has 
disappeared for a time, a union with one whose 
qualities are favorable may produce in the off- 
spring the ancestral trait. It has been observed 
that in cases where there is dormant scrofula, con- 
sumption, or some other morbid condition, the 
union of such a person with one having a fever- 
ish or highly nervous temperament produces de- 
generate offspring. Again, it frequently occurs 
that where one parent has a certain hereditary 
taste or talent that is not manifest in his or her 
life a favorable union will give to the off spring slumbering 

as a manifest character the taste or talent of theT aIe ? ts « 
-. ,—. 111 r 1 • Awakened* 

distant ancestor, ihrough the law of combina- 
tions both good and evil qualities that have been 
slumbering for generations reappear in a more or 
less modified form. 

To the student of heredity atavism is one of its 
most interesting factors; to be sure, it is always 
an unknown quantity, but intermittency both of Intermittent 
the morbid and the normal traits of families are 
so marked as to offer but little difficulty in trac- 
ing the law. Some years ago I observed a family 
in which the father was extremely overbearing, 
stubborn and egotistical; the mother seemed to- 
tally wanting in these traits, being a most amiable, 
conformative and considerate character. Their 
eldest daughter resembled the father very much 
in many ways, but seemed wholly without his un- 
desirable qualities. Throughout her entire life 



148 



r A CHILD OF LIGHT, 



Atavism and 
Genius* 



she manifested only the most sweet-tempered and 
amiable disposition. She married a very even- 
Resemblance to tempered, kind, conformative man by whom she 
bore three children; the eldest, a son, resembled 
his mother, except that he had his grandfather's 
extremely over-bearing, stubborn and egotistical 
traits to a painful degree. 

History records many cases of atavism in which 
slumbering talents have reappeared, to some of 
which I shall have occasion to refer later. A case 
worthy of note that came under my personal ob- 
servation will serve to illustrate the relation of 
atavism to genius. In 1889 I was called to study 
an exceptionally bright child. The lad at the 
age of four had a remarkably well developed 
brain ; the texture was fine, the organization indi- 
cated marked originality and superior intellectual 
ability, particularly in the line of philosophy. The 
child was a mystery to his parents. His mind 
ran constantly in lines so far beyond theirs that 
they were inclined to question his sanity. His 
mother told me that he would stand for hours at 
night to question her about the stars, and was 
continually inquiring about the "why" and the 
"wherefore" of many things that she had never 
even thought of. As both parents were very or- 
dinary and there had been no special prenatal 
training or maternal impressions that might 
account for the superiority of the child, I was led 
to investigate the family history with the hope of 
discovering a cause adequate to the effect. I 
found that the mother's family ran back in three 
generations to one of the best families of Scot- 
land, and that the father was a lineal descendant 



A Descendant 
of Newton* 






ATAVISM. 149 

of Sir Isaac Newton's brother. The boy was a 
Newton in temperament and brain form. To be 
sure, there may have been other causes, but in 
the absence of any other adequate cause it would 
seem like a clear case of atavism. 

The reappearance of dormant forces, whether 
good or evil, does not necessarily produce the 
same condition that existed in the ancestors. The 
latent forces are influenced and modified by fac- 
tors that were absent or did not exist in the same virStioni 
strength in the ancestry. For instance, insanity 
in a highly nervous temperament often reappears 
in succeeding generations in the form of eccen- 
tricities, strange peculiarities of character, melan- 
choly or even special genius. In like manner, par- 
ticular tastes or talents for art, science, literature 
or mechanics frequently reappear in a modified 
form. 



Paet II. 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XL 

PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 

In preceding chapters we have considered 
briefly the several factors of heredity and the 
potentiality of the fixed, or established, charac- 
ters and their influence upon offspring. In this 
and succeeding chapters we shall study the fac- 
tors of prenatal culture, the influence of parent- 
al conditions at the initial of life, and the effects 
of maternal impressions during gestation. 

The transmission of acquired characters is an 
established fact. The transient physical, mental Acquired 
and moral conditions of the parents, prior to Characters 
the initial of life, at the time of inception and of 
the mother during gestation, do affect offspring. 
This fact I have emphasized at some length in 
the introduction to Part I, but, because of its 
supreme importance, I shall notice further the 
testimony of standard authorities and recount a 
few cases from personal observations showing 
the eflicacy of prenatal influences and maternal 
impressions. 



152 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Darwin. 



Zeime, 



Cowan. 



Hoibrook. 



Newton. 



"Heredity produces an exact copy of the pa- 
rent in the child. * * * We may feel as- 
sured that the inherited effects of the use and 
disuse of parts will have done much in the same 
direction with maternal selection in modifying 
man's structure of body." — Charles Darwin. 

"Every character which must have been 
formed through the activity of the organism is 
an acquired character. All characters, therefore, 
which have been developed by exertion are ac- 
quired, and these characters are transmitted from 
generation to generation." — Dr. G. H. Th. Zeime. 

"The fundamental principles of genius in re- 
production are that, through the rightly directed 
wills of the mother and father, preceding and 
during antenatal life, the child's form of body, 
character of mind and purity of soul are formed 
and established. That in its plastic state, dur- 
ing antenatal life, like clay in the hand of the 
potter, it can be molded into absolutely any form 
of body and soul the parents may knowingly de- 
sire!' — Dr. John Cowan. 

"Unless characteristics acquired by an indi- 
vidual, that is, the modifications of the organ- 
ism due to his own life's experiences, are capable 
of being handed down to his offspring, it is dif- 
ficult to see how any progress could be made in 
the development of the race." — M. L. Holdbrook, 
M. D. 

"Numerous facts indicate that offspring may 
be affected and their tendencies shaped by a great 
variety of influences, among which moods and 
influences more or less transient may be includ- 
ed."— A. E. Newton. 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 153 

"All existing parental states are stamped on 
offspring. This is a self-evident law of procre- 
ation. It commends itself to the good sense of FowIer * 
all. It is an absolute necessity based on the in- 
herent fitness of things. To argue a question 
thus obvious at first sight is superfluous. How 
can progeny begotten when parents are weak, 
exhausted, or sickly be as vigorous as those cre- 
ated when they overflow with life, health, and 
power? No farmer's boy would allow a farm 
colt to be sired under any such conditions; be- 
cause breeders of fine animals understand the 
law governing such cases perfectly. After all, 
what is it but the old fashioned law of common 
sense? They know that while "blood will tell" 
in offspring, existing parental states likewise tell, 
if not as much, at least as surely. * * * All 
primal elements and characteristics are trans- 
mitted, but all existing parental states are also 
incorporated with the hereditary and the two con- 
jointly predetermine progenital specialties of 
mind and body. The difference between child- 
ren of the same parents is heaven-wide. Why? 
For the primal parental characteristics are of 
course the same in each. Because one or both 
were in one state at the creation of one but in 
a totally different state when they created an- 
other, and in still other states at the creation of 
others." — Prof. O. S. Fowler. 

The influences of environmental conditions 
and prenatal training are ever manifest. Colts A^^Is Trans- 
from dams that have been under regular train- Characters, 
ing are faster than those from the same mother 
foaled before she had been trained. The puppies 



154 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

of the trained shepherd learn much more read- 
ily than do those from the untrained animal. No 
sportsman would think of paying a high price 
for a puppy, the mother of which was stupid and 
untrained. The same law applies, only with 
greater effect, to the human family. 

Prenatal influences often largely control the 
hereditary tendencies. I have observed several 
cases in which the effects were almost phenom- 
enal. At Strang, Nebraska, I was surprised, 
upon entering the C. B. & Q. Ry. station, to 
see a twelve-year-old girl selling tickets, checking 
A Bom Station ba gg a g e > receiving and sending telegraphic mes- 
Agent. sages, dispatching trains, directing passengers 

and otherwise superintending the station. I 
asked for the station agent and was frankly in- 
formed by the child that she was the regularly 
employed agent. On further investigation I 
found that she had been in the employ of the 
company for some time, had complete charge of 
the passenger department at the place, received 
all moneys, kept the books, made all remittances, 
attended to all telegraphic communications and 
other business* connected with the road. Accord- 
ing to the road auditor she was one of the most 
efficient agents on the system. In a long article 
published in the auditor's report (copies of which 
may be secured) the auditor says: "Miss Walk- 
er has the best kept set of books on the division. 
If she keeps on she may some day be president 
of the road." I spent several hours in conver- 
sation with the child at different times and was 
amazed at the rapidity and self-composure with 
which she discharged her many duties. I ob- 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 155 

served that in receiving or sending a message, 
she would converse freely on other subjects with- 
out any apparent inconvenience; while the end- 
less questions of passengers, the clamor of check- 
ing baggage and the shouting of trainmen for 
orders did not disturb her in the least. All 
seemed to be done as if by instinct. 

The case was so remarkable that I made a 
study of the family. The child resembled the 
father in his fixed characteristics, but in her mar- The Child of a 
velous gifts was a reproduction of his business Train Dispatcher 
before the initial of her life. The father had 
been a train dispatcher on one of the trunk lines 
out of Chicago for fifteen years prior to the birth 
of this child. His laborious tasks had seemingly 
concentrated all his forces in the one line; the 
child showed a peculiar aptitude for his work 
from infancy, and I believe she entered the em- 
ploy of the company on a salary at the age of 
ten. 

I have a friend in New York who was en- 
gaged in a sedentary occupation. For years he 
had taken but little bodily exercise and conse- 
quently was low in physical strength and energy. 
His little boy, born under these conditions, had 
a splendid brain and excelled in mathematics ( the j^ ec ? s of 
father was a bookkeeper) but was sadly wanting 
in physical development and vitality. His lower 
limbs were spindling, his chest narrow and his 
whole constitution weak. After my conversa- 
tion with the father touching the possible cause 
he was determined to see what could be done by 
a little vigorous training on his part. He there- 
fore took up systematic physical culture, putting 



156 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

in an hour a day in a gymnasium for nearly 
two years, with the result that he gained 25 
pounds of solid muscle, and, as he said, "twice 
as much energy" — becoming a well developed 
athlete. At the end of two years the initial of 
another life took place. This child, also a boy, 
had as good a brain as his older brother and a 
strong physique as well. He surprised his moth- 
er and greatly delighted his father when only a 
few months old by suspending his weight by his 
hands from a bar and doing numerous other 
feats that indicated superior muscular power. 
When the two entered school the elder was in- 
clined to study beyond his strength, did not care 
for exercise or play and had to be driven from 
A Father's ^is books. The younger, although there were 
Regrets. several years between them, handled his brother 

like a bag of bran, took an active part in all 
athletic sports, yet kept up his studies easily. 
The father, after seeing the unquestionable ben- 
efit that his younger child had derived from his 
own training, said to me: "I would give all 
I have in the world and five years of my life to 
have had my eldest son as well born as was his 
brother." 

Since the peculiar tastes, talents and tendencies 
Holmes on Pre- °^ eacn individual are inborn, the importance of 
natal Culture, having these inherited tendencies right cannot be 
overestimated. If the primary elements of the 
physical and mental constitutions are fixed be- 
fore birth, it follows that, if the best results are 
to be obtained, the training should begin as early 
as possible and be as thorough as the case will 
allow. Some one has said: "Regeneration 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 157 

should proceed generation." Oliver Wendell 
Holmes used to say, "The training of a child 
should begin 200 years before its birth." Im- 
practicable as this wise remark may seem, the 
training of every child does begin much further 
back than this. 

Mr. Grant Allen remarks: "To prepare our- 
selves for the duties of maternity and paternity, 
by making ourselves as vigorous and healthful afCG u y * 
as we can be, is a duty that we owe to all our 
children unborn and to one another." 

Herbert Spencer declares : "The question of 
acquired characters being transmissible is the 
most important question before the scientific i n fi uences too 
world." Society has too long ignored the power Long Ignored, 
of prenatal influences. Millions who might have 
been well born by proper antenatal training com- 
bine in their natures the worst elements of their 
parents. Holmes has aptly said : "Society finds 
that it is easier to hang a troublesome fellow, con- 
sign a soul to perdition, or save it by saying 
mass, than to blame itself, or take the proper 
effort for improvement." 

The importance of prenatal training is gener- 
ally conceded. The necessity of intelligent pro- 
cedure, system and order must be apparent to all 
thoughtful persons. Nature does nothing by 
chance. Throughout the whole realm of the uni- bu^ Chance, 
verse all is order, system and law. Surely, an 
act so important, so vast, so far reaching, as 
the creation of a new life, should not be left to 
ignorance, chance or accident. Dr. John Cow- 
an says: "Why is it that there is so much of 
plain, mediocre of mankind in the world ? Why 



158 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

is it that where there is one success in life's en- 
deavors, there are thousands of failures? Why 
^unEd* 1 * -aw * s ^ *k a * there is so much sin, misery, suffering 
and premature death, and so little, so very little, 
of genuine success and happiness ? Why is there 
so much of wrong in life, and so little of the 
right? These are important questions, and yet 
easy of solution ; for when it comes to be under- 
stood that not more than one child in perhaps 
ten thousand is brought into the world with the 
consent and loving desire of the parents, and that 
the other nine thousand nine hundred and ninety- 
nine children are endowed with the accumulated 
sins of the parents, is it any wonder that there 

Why the Abnor-is so much sin, sickness, drunkenness, suffering, 
mal Prevails* ... . • • 1 1 

licentiousness, murder, suicide and premature 

death, and so little of purity, chastity, success, 
goodness, happiness and long life in the world? 
The reformation of the world can never be ac- 
complished, the millennium of purity, chastity and 
intense happiness can never reach this earth, ex- 
cept through cheerful obedience to prenatal laws. 
* * * It is a noticeable thing that in the rul- 
ing and guiding of this world there is absolutely 
nothing done by chance, from the growth of the 
smallest insect to that of the largest quadruped, 
from the falling of a sparrow to the death of a 
sinner or a Christian. * * * In the concep- 
tion of a new soul, the mass of mankind observes 
no law, unless it be the law of chance. Out of 
noTaw? 1 *"™ tlie ncent i° us > or incontinent actions of a hus- 
band's nature, conception, after a time, is dis- 
covered to have taken place. No preparation of 
body, mind or soul is made by either parent. 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 159 

* * * A new soul is born into the world, a 
soul having for its inheritance all the essential 
qualities necessary for a puny, brief, and unsuc- 
cessful existence/' 

Dr. Cowan seemingly takes a very melancholy 
view of the subject. Fortunately, there is a 
brighter side to the picture. If his statement p a fa f ^f s h | t ^ dy 
"That not more than one child in perhaps ten Heredity. 
thousand is brought into the world with the con- 
sent and loving desire of the parents" was true, 
or nearly so, when he wrote, then the study of 
and obedience to the laws of heredity have great- 
ly increased within the last quarter of a century. 

Today thousands of cultured parents make a „ . « „ lA 
/ r Prenatal Culture 

careful study of prenatal culture and successfully Practically 
apply its laws to the improvement of offspring. A PP lie<J# 
It has been my pleasure to study many children 
whose lives were planned for and their best in- 
terests carefully considered by both parents for 
months and even years before the initial of life. 
Recently a lady from the City of Mexico 
brought me her three children for study. The 
second one was so superior to the others that 
even the most casual observer would have no- a Tokology 
ticed the difference. Being asked for the cause C*" 1 ^ 
the lady said: "That is a Tokology child. I 
followed Mrs. Stockham's directions to the let- 
ter. Before her birth our circumstances were 
such that I was at liberty to do just as I pleased, 
and I devoted the period to the child. She has 
never been sick, is always sunny and cheerful, 
is easily first in her classes and has given me only 
pleasure from her birth. It is the regret of my 
life that I was not able to do as well by the 
others." 



i6o PRENATAL CULTURE. 

The talented children of the Rev. Joseph Wal- 
drop — a Baptist clergyman of the Pacific coast — 

A Bom Orator, are fine illustrations of what may be done by in- 
telligent prenatal culture. The parents made a 
careful study of heredity and the laws of pre- 
natal culture long before their first child was 
born. When their circumstances would permit 
they decided to have a child and began syste- 
matic preparation. It was their hearts' desire 
that their first child should be an orator; there- 
fore, special training was taken in this direction 
by both parents. They not only studied expres- 
sion and the elements of oratory, but made it a 
point to hear the best speakers within their reach. 
After due preparation and consecration, the new 
life was begun. During the period of gestation 
the mother continued her training. Their child, 
born under these conditions, is a natural orator. 
At the age of 13 she displayed exceptional talent, 
had a voice of unusual clearness and a highly 
responsive mind. Some years later they planned 
another life, and, as before, entered into syste- 
matic training with a definite purpose in view. 
The ideal this time was a musician and, as before, 
they did faithful work for soul growth in this 

A Musical direction, sparing neither time nor pains to give 

the mother every opportunity to hear the best 
musical artists in the country. When their 
"Jennie Lind" was born it was a boy ; a boy born 
to fame and fortune. His musical talent has sel- 
dom, if ever, been surpassed by a child. At the 
age of five he entertained six thousand people 
at the Exposition Building in Portland, Oregon, 
playing about twenty musical instruments and 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 161 

reproducing at the first attempt simple melodies 
that he had heard but once. 

A professional man, a personal friend, had a 
very good memory except that he could not re-^^ ption ^ 
call names. During his study of medicine it Names. 
seemed impossible for him to master the techni- 
cal terms of the text books. He found it ab- 
solutely necessary to take special training in mem- 
orizing names. During gestation his wife be- 
came interested in his studies and gave some 
time to memory culture. Their daughter born 
under these conditions was very much like the 
father, except that her memory of names was far 
better than the average. On being introduced 
to a large company of persons at an evening 
gathering, she experienced no difficulty in recall- 
ing the name of each person at the second meet- 
ing. In all her studies the memorizing of the 
names was a very easy task. 

Up in the Michigan pineries, among the rocks 
and stumps there lived an illiterate farmer who 
was wiser in matters pertaining to prenatal cul- 
ture than many who have enjoyed better ad- 
vantages. Unlike most farmers instead of mak- Practical 
ing a drudge of his wife and devoting all of his SUM P lca ture * 
attention to raising fine stock he gave special at- 
tention to rearing a fine family. He and his 
wife shared the diversity of labor common to the 
farm but were careful not to exhaust themselves 
by over work. They were students of mind and 
knew how to stimulate, cultivate and restrain the 
several mental powers. Before the initial of 
each life and during antenatal development all 
the several elements of the mind were systemati- 



1 62 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Children 
Superior to 
Parents. 



What Prenatal 
Culture Would 
Do. 



Heredity Should 
be Popularized* 



cally trained with the result that the children were 
far superior to either parent. The parents in 
their humble way were justly proud of their chil- 
dren. All the five were hale and hearty and had 
never required the attendance of a physician. 
They were exceptionally apt in study and were 
seemingly well endowed in the feelings and moral 
sentiments. As I studied these little folks and ob- 
served their physical development, bright eyes 
and happy natures bubbling over with sunshine 
and gladness, I felt like taking the whole fam- 
ily along with me to show to the world what even 
simple minded parents may do by living in ac- 
cordance with nature's laws. 

Illustrations of the effects of prenatal training 
might be multiplied indefinitely, but the fore- 
going are sufficient to indicate some of its pos- 
sibilities. What one family, nay what many have 
done, others may do. All children might be, and 
should be, superior to their parents. If the laws 
of heredity and prenatal culture were studied and 
applied, each generation would be better born 
than the preceding one. 

The study of heredity should be popularized. 
The college, the pulpit, and the press should 
herald it. Children have rights that parents 
should recognize from the hour of inception. 
They have the right to be well born, and who- 
ever denies them this right is guilty of a crime 
that nature will not let go unpunished. Parents 
have no more right to neglect or abuse a child 
prenatally than postnatally. Reformers and edu- 
cators have much to say about early postnatal 
influences. Why not begin at the beginning? 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 163 

Public sentiment, custom and law forbid the 
neglect or abuse of children and compel parents 
to educate them. Why not apply these forces for 
the prenatal welfare of children? If parents are 
going to give the best of their lives and most of 
their earnings to rearing and educating a family, 
then how important it is to have the prenatal 
influences and training right, so that each child 
may have in its heredity the basis of physical 
strength, mental power and moral character. 



CHAPTER XII. 

PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 

Prenatal Culture — Or, the law whereby 
the acquired and the trans cient physical and 
mental characteristics of parents, particularly 
those that are most active for some time prior 
to the initial of a life, at the time of inception 
and in the mother during gestation are trans- 
mitted to offspring. 

The law of prenatal culture affords an illimit- 
able means of improving the race. By it, the 
Possibilities of otherwise inevitable results arising from the 
Prenatal Culture, operation of the fixed laws of heredity — whereby 
like creates like — may be greatly modified. By 
its intelligent application, all unfavorable condi- 
tions arising from the incompatibility of parents, 
their physical or mental weaknesses may be im- 
measurably improved. Prenatal culture is con- 
sidered the most important factor of heredity; 
not that it is more potential than any, or all, other 
factors, but being subject to choice and volition, it 
is capable of the widest practical application and 
of producing most beneficial results. 

The objects of prenatal training are: (i) to 
Objects of withhold from offspring any undesirable quality 

Training. of body or mind, possessed by either parent, or 

the immediate ancestors; (2) to avoid all un- 
desirable physical or mental conditions that might 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 165 

be transmitted through the union of the parents ; 
(3) to increase the desirable characteristics in 
both parents so that offspring may be as well 
endowed physically, mentally, and morally, as 
possible. 

With these objects in view, every couple who 
contemplate parentage should make a thorough ation# mm ~ 
invoice of their physical, social and intellectual 
"stock in trade." They should note wherein they 
are lacking and in what, excessively strong. They 
should study their ancestry to learn what to 
avoid and what slumbering talents and virtues 
there are to be awakened. They should study 
their physical and mental constitutions to see 
wherein these are well adapted, and, therefore, 
apt to produce good results, or are too much 
alike and so pronounced that their union will be 
apt to prove unfavorable to offspring. Again, 
they should decide upon the time and season, and the Objects in 
even upon the qualities they desire to have View * 
strongest in the offspring. With these questions 
settled, they should plan, and systematically carry 
out such physical, intellectual and moral training 
as will be conducive to the best results. 

Mutual desire for offspring and mutual prepa- 
ration is highly important. It is very difficult for Mutual Prepar- 
one parent to accomplish much without the hearty ation * 
co-operation and complete sympathy of the other. 
Even during gestation, the father should increase, 
rather than relax his interest in mental and moral 
training. By making it a mutual labor of love, 
the mother will be enabled to so much more 
effectually impress the child with desirable qual- 
ities. If the father feels, when the new life is 



1 66 PRENATAL CULTURE, 

begun, that his obligations for training are at 
an end, especially, if he becomes indifferent, 
the mother may become discouraged, or careless 
and the prenatal training be neglected, just at 
the time when it would be most potential for 
good. 

The time required for prenatal training previ- 
The Time ous ± £ ne initial of life, depends largely upon the 
Preparation. parents and their adaptability. Many are so 
afflicted physically, or mentally, that for the sake 
of posterity they should abstain from becoming 
parents at all; others less unfortunate, but who 
have some constitutional weakness, mental or 
moral defect, require years of systematic train- 
ing if their children are to be even fairly well- 
born. Where parents possess a fair degree of 
physical strength, mental and moral vigor, and 
the adaptability is reasonably good, most excel- 
lent results may be obtained by a year or even 
less, of careful preparation. If there is any 
physical, or mental weakness, any abnormal 
propensity to be overcome, then more time is 
desirable. Again, some natures respond much 
more readily to training than do others, so it is 
impossible to lay down any definite rule except, 
that, the more thorough the preparation the bet- 
ter. 

In succeeding chapters, I shall give some 
specific directions under the head of "Maternal 
Impressions" for prenatal culture that are appli- 
cable mainly to the period of gestation. In this 
and the following chapter, I desire to offer some 
suggestions calculated to aid parents in preparing 
themselves, physically, mentally and morally for 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 167 

the creation of a new life. Most of the sugges- 
tions here given are quite as applicable to the 
mother during gestation as to the period of prep- 
aration. 

One of the first things to be considered by those 
contemplating parentage, is their constitutional Improving 
adaptability. As indicated in our chapter on Ada P tatIon - 
"Parental Adaptation," a couple, each of whom 
is strong physically, mentally and morally — 
because of inadaptability — may be quite unfit to 
unite in the creation of a new life; therefore, if 
prospective parents are not quite well mated they 
should endeavor to improve their adaptability 
before becoming parents. If they are too much 
alike, or if both have some physical or mental 
peculiarity, too weak or abnormally strong, these 
conditions should be overcome by systematic 
training, so that the two natures may form the 
counterpart of each other and blend in offspring. 

Perhaps the most essential thing in physical 
culture, preparatory to parentage, is the develop- 
ment of strong digestive and nutritional powers. 
All authorities are agreed that lack of nutrition importance of 
in the parents is one of the greatest causes of™* 1 "** 011, 
arrested growths, deformities and weak consti- 
tutions in offspring. Every farmer understands 
that poorly fed animals produce poor progeny; 
the same law applies with equal force to the 
human family. Many children are born with 
rickety, puny bodies and weak constitutions, 
solely because the parents were not well nour- 
ished when the germ and sperm cells were form- 
ing and also during embryonic development. 

Few persons are well fed. Even in this land 



Scarce. 



1 68 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

of plenty many are but poorly nourished. We 
have the best, but make poor use of it. We subsist 

A Nation of mainly upon foods that are highly stimulating, 
difficult to digest and lacking in nutritive power. 
The poor buy the coarse vegetables — that consist 
largely of water — because they get a larger quan- 
tity for their money; while the rich live on con- 
centrated foods, condiments and sweets, that 
overheat or stimulate, but do not nourish. It is 
estimated that 75 per cent of the American people 
suffer more or less from indigestion. 

Good cooks are scarce. Thousands commit 
suicide at their own tables, and tens of thousands 
at the restaurants and boarding houses. No 

Good Cooks are woman's education is complete, and no girl 
should think of getting married or assuming the 
duties of a home, until she has mastered the art 
of cooking. In this I do not mean the art of 
making pastry, preserves and fancy dishes 
(which in recent years has become a fad among 
fashionable young ladies), but the art of cooking 
plain foods so that they are at once wholesome, 
palatable and easy to digest. Hygienic cooking 
in every home for two generations would sub- 
stantially improve the race. 

The character and quantity of food, best suited 
to the requirements of different individuals is so 

Practical varied that no definite rules can be laid down 

applicable to all. What agrees perfectly with one 
person may be wholly indigestable to another; 
each must select what agrees with his or her con- 
stitution. As a general rule the nearer all grains, 
fruits and vegetables are cooked separately and 
with little seasoning, the better, the more they are 



Dietetics. 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 169 

complicated by mixing and seasoning or concen- 
trated by extracting the cruder elements, the 
harder they are to digest. 

No food should ever be fried. Everything 
should be cooked by steaming, boiling, broiling, 
roasting and baking. The frying pan is the best 
friend the doctors and undertakers ever had; itg^^Vj 1 ^ 
should never be used. Raw-fried potatoes, fried 
eggs, fried pork and beefsteak fried in hog's lard 
until it is "oil-tanned," are unfit to put in the 
stomach of any civilized man. Pickles, preserves, 
hot sauces, candies, sweets and pastries pervert 
the palate, sour the stomach and clog the liver, 
thereby making the user very susceptible to colds, 
catarrh, and kidney trouble. They are considered 
very bad for children, but are really no better 
for anyone. 

The following suggestions, taken from my 
work, "Human Nature Explained," if faithfully 
adhered to, will enable anyone to strengthen the 
digestive functions. "Take plenty of time at the 
table. Be cheerful, mirthful and good natured 
while eating and during the hours of digestion. tfalH^estive 2 
Never worry nor fret. Eat slowly, being care- Function, 
ful to masticate and salivate thoroughly. Drink 
very little with the food, or for two hours after a 
meal. One cup of hot water, or weak tea or 
coffee, may be used at the close of the meal — the 
less tea and coffee, however, the better, even the 
cereal compounds are not desirable, because any 
parched grain is constipating. Eat sparingly of 
plain, wholesome, nutritious food, never over- 
load the stomach. If an ounce of food is all that 
can be digested at one time, no more should be 



What to Eat. 



170 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

taken. (A little food well digested will nourish 
the body much better than a large quantity partly 
digested; moreover, undigested food is sure to 
play havoc with the stomach, liver and kidneys.) 
Avoid every thing of an irritating or stimulating 
character; fermented or alcoholic drinks and 
tobacco in all forms. Do not expect to cure dys- 
pepsia, or kidney trouble while using tobacco. 
Use very little pepper, mustard, vinegar, horse- 
radish, hot sauces, cold-slaugh, concentrated 
sweets, pastry, confectionery, butter, grease, fat, 
pork meats, sausage and fried steaks. Subsist 
mainly upon cereals, vegetables and fruits, using 
meat once a day. Keep the bowels open by a diet 
of whole wheat bread and plenty of ripe fruit. If 
there is a tendency to constipation, drink, drink 
abundantly of pure soft water before retiring 
and during the night. Never use pills, drugs or 
patent medicines for this trouble, a warm enema 
is better." 

The respiratory power should be strong. If 
weak in either parent it should be strengthened 

Respiration. before the inception of a new life. It is a fact 
well known to recruiting surgeons, that a soldier's 
power of endurance is determined largely by his 
chest measurement. As men breathe so they live. 
He who breathes most lives most, feels and en- 
joys most, endures the longest and accomplishes 
the most in life. 

The blood is the life. Two things are essential 

The Blood is for the formation of pure, rich blood : ( 1 ) whole- 
some food well digested; (2) free oxygenation. 
If the blood is pure and rich, then proper exercise 
is all that is necessary for the development of 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 171 

strong bones, muscles, nerves, brain, mind and 
character. Few persons enjoy or accomplish 
what they might, if they would breathe more pure 
air. It is amazing to see how the mass of man- 
kind, even when there is positively no occasion 
for it, shut out the fresh air, sleep, live and work 
in unventilated rooms, from which the oxygen 
has been exhausted, until the atmosphere is vile 
with the poisonous gases thrown off in respira- 
tion. 

Unventilated theaters and churches are the in- 
cubators of disease. How strange that persons, 
who consider themselves refined and cleanly — 

who would not use a towel, napkin, or dish, that^ 

. - - -iti t -ii • Poor Ventilation. 

had been soiled by another — will go into an 

unventilated room, with all classes of people, and 
breathe over and over again, the foul breath and 
poisonous gases freighted with the fumes of 
tobacco, or alcohol, and pregnant with disease 
germs! Any attempt to raise a window by per- 
sons who appreciate the importance of pure air 
is usually met with frowns and rebukes from 
those who are afraid of "taking cold." The fact^ «^ c T , 
is, cold air in a closed room is viler than hot air, Cold. 
for when the room is thoroughly heated the 
poisonous gases rise. There are twenty diseases! 
contracted and ten persons killed every winter 1 
by sleeping and living in foul air for every one 1 
that is injured by a draft or killed by exposure to 1 
pure air. The whole list of epidemics that scourge 
us every winter, and the score of spring ailments 
that have come to be considered inevitable are 
caused largely by living in overheated, unventila- 
ted rooms in winter time. 



172 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Incubators of 
Disease Germs* 



Ailments Pecu- 
liar to Winter. 



Developing the 
Lungs. 



In unventilated rooms disease germs breed and 
multiply. In unventilated rooms the blood of 
sleeping persons becomes sluggish through poor 
oxygenation, resulting in torpid liver and imper- 
fect secretions. In overheated rooms the organ- 
ism becomes accustomed to high temperature, so 
that atmospheric changes render the person liable 
to colds and congestions which pave the way for 
all the bacterial diseases. 

The winter season is as normal as the summer ; 
therefore, if sickness is more prevalent then, it is 
because people do not live as nearly in accord with 
nature's laws. When we learn to keep our houses 
thrown open as fully in winter as in summer, to 
build more fire yet keep our homes, shops, fac- 
tories, stores, offices, cars, halls, theaters and 
churches all thoroughly ventilated, so that the 
air is as pure inside as it is out, then, and not until 
then, will it be possible to prevent la-grippe, colds, 
coughs, sore throats, catarrh, pleurisy, quick con- 
sumption, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, and 
the list of ailments peculiar to winter and spring. 

Prospective parents should not only be very 
particular about having an abundance of fresh 
air, but should give special attention to develop- 
ing the powers of respiration. Unless the lungs 
are very strong and the chest expansion fully three 
and a half inches, the following exercise should 
be taken two or more times each day : ( 1 ) have 
the clothing loose enough to give perfectly free 
action to the chest. Stand erect, throw the 
shoulders back, fill the chest as full as possible 
without straining, being careful to breathe 
through the nostrils only. Place a small tube — 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION. 173 

like a pipe stem — in the mouth and force the air 
out through this tube with all the power possible ; 
this will dilate the air cells to their greatest 
capacity and at the same time strengthen the 
muscles of the chest; (2) place the hands over 
different parts of the chest and then direct the 
expansion to that part, seeing how much the 
hand can be elevated by breathing. By repeating 
these exercises a number of times each day, theg^ cis ^ 
breathing power and chest expansion will in- 
crease rapidly. Consumption may be cured by 
these exercises if taken in its early stages. Even 
where the consumptive tendency is hereditary in 
the family, if deep breathing is habitually prac- 
ticed for a number of months, before the incep- 
tion of a new life, and by the mother during ges- 
tation, there is very little danger of the offspring 
suffering from weak lungs. 

Plenty of exercise is essential, but overwork 

should be avoided by prospective parents. Per- Importance of 

r . exercise. 

sons of leisure frequently parent puny offspring 

because their inactive lives deplete the nerve 
forces and thereby weaken the functional powers 
of all the vital organs. On the other hand, many 
who toil with the brain or brawn, so exhaust their 
vital powers that it is impossible for them to 
parent strong, healthy children. Both extremes 
should be avoided. 

Exercise to be conducive to the best results, 
should be of such a character as will call all of the sno^ d ^ c e mbcrs 
anatomy into action. It should be taken daily Strengthened* 
and long enough to make rest a pleasure. If the 
back, the arms, the muscles of the chest, or any 
particular part is weak, it should receive special 



174 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Personal Habits* 



Cleanliness* 



Dangers of an 
Idle Moment* 



training. By proper physical culture parents who 
have only a moderate degree of strength and 
vitality may endow their offspriri with a com- 
paratively strong constitution. 

The personal habits of the prospective father 
should be carefully considered ; if addicted to the 
use of opiates, alcoholic drinks, or tobacco in any 
form, he should give them up. The importance 
of this will be considered in a succeeding chapter. 
It is enough to say here that no self-respecting 
man, who has the slightest interest in the well- 
being of his offspring should think of parenting 
a child while addicted to the use of narcotics. If 
he is gluttonous, he should be temperate; not 
only for the sake of withholding an abnormal 
appetite from his child but that his own organiza- 
tion may be healthy and not inflamed by excessive 
carbon, nor stimulated by irritants. 

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Habitual 
filthiness is not only unhealthy but most demoral- 
izing. No man who is uncleanly need expect to 
have a pure mind, nor to give a decent inheritance 
to a child. The weekly, or semi-weekly, warm 
bath, should be a part of every person's religion. 
The morning sponge-bath, followed by a little 
brisk rubbing with the palms of the hands, is a 
luxury that should be enjoyed by all, save the 
extremely feeble or delicate. 

An idle moment is a dangerous moment. The 
modern custom of loafing is the mother of bad 
habits. If a man has formed the habit of spend- 
ing his evenings down town, standing around 
street corners, in pool rooms or club houses, he 
should learn to make better use of his spare time 



PHYSICAL PREPARATION, 175 

before generating a new life. The tendency to- 
ward loafing may be as fully transmitted as any 
other acquired character. 

The prospective mother requires possibly even 
more preparation for parentage than the father. p f gp^°ion! S 
Fortunately many excellent works bearing 
directly, or indirectly, upon this subject, have 
been published so that she who reads need not err, 
at least from ignorance. The subject of dress, 
while highly important, has been so fully dis- 
cussed by hygienists and reformers as to require 
no comment here; moreover, most cultured 
women of today have the good sense and inde- 
pendence to dress during gestation in accordance 
with the demands of maternity rather than those 
of fashion. Some, however, do not realize the 
necessity and importance of dressing so as to 
give free action to the chest and abdominal 
muscles for a few months before the beginning 
of maternity. If the prospective mother is accus- 
tomed to wearing a corset, or suspending the 
weight of her skirts from the waist, she should D re ts. 
abandon the former, wear all garments comfort- 
ably loose and suspend their weight from the 
shoulders only. If she is nervous and lacking in 
self control, a proper diet, an abundance of fresh 
air, carefully directed physical culture and seven qV 
or eight hours of good sound sleep every night in 
a room with open windows will tend to restore 
the nerves to a normal condition and give her the 
self control essential to the proper performance 
of the maternal function. 

Social dissipation should be avoided. If a 
mother is overburdened with social duties, or 



176 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Social 
Dissipation. 



Children of 
Society "Women. 



The Creative 
Principle. 



To Increase 
Virility. 



inclined to give herself up to balls, parties and 
other fashionable affairs that exhaust her nerve 
forces, she certainly needs to change her order of 
life. The children of society women are seldom, 
if ever, well-born either physically, mentally or 
morally. No woman who appreciates, even in a 
slight degree, the duties and privileges of mater- 
nity, will give herself over to the frivolities of 
society, or enter upon the performance of this 
sacred function without proper physical prepara- 
tion. 

The most essential thing in the physical prep- 
aration for parenthood, is the development and 
control of the powers of fecundation. If either 
parent is naturally weak, or has exhausted this 
function, it should be strengthened before the 
inception of a new life. The development of this 
power in the prospective mother is often neces- 
sary. Many young women instead of being 
taught how to direct their femininity to the 
development of noble womanhood are urged to 
suppress it, or are sent to seminaries for young 
ladies until the sex attribute is so dwarfed or per- 
verted as to destroy their personal magnetism 
and partly disqualify them for motherhood. 

Where the sex power is weak or deficient in 
either parent it may be strengthened by hygienic 
living and the proper expression of the affections. 
The law of continence best for all at all times 
is especially commendable during the period of 
preparation. ( 1 ) Because it enables both parents 
to regain their virility; (2) It augments their 
affections for each other, and tends to establish 
a high degree of harmony; (3) It is essential in 



PHYSICAL PREPARA TION. 1 77 

order to withhold a sensual inheritance from the 
child; and finally, since absolute continence and 
chastity should be maintained throughout gesta- 
tion, it is well for parents to learn the lesson of 
self control before the initial of the new life. 

It is stated upon good authority, that Sir Isaac 
Newton was conceived after two years of en- 
forced continence. The exemplary life, spotless 
chastity and towering genius of this eminent phil- Newton, 
osopher testify to his splendid inheritance. Many 
are indebted to a like cause for their superior 
qualities. 

At Grand Rapids, Michigan, I made a careful 

study of a very superior child. She not only had 

a good form, but her muscles were firm, giving 

her the grace and bearing of an athlete. She was 

pretty, highly magnetic, and so far above the 

average as to attract attention wherever she went. 

I first noticed her intellectual face in my audience 

of over a thousand people. Her parents were A -^ „ f 

1 11 111 A w ell-born 

good people but not much above the average. Child. 

The father told me that for three years after mar- 
riage he and his wife were most delightfully 
happy and their affections comparatively chaste. 
They had planned this little life, and because of 
their sedentary occupation, had both taken physi- 
cal training for one year before the inception. 
They had lived hygenically in all ways. The 
child was conceived when both parents were hale, 
vigorous and magnetic. During gestation, 
maternity was respected and perfect continence 
maintained, the mother continuing her physical 
training for the first four months. Before incep- 
tion, as well as during gestation, the mother gave 



178 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

much attention to elocution and art. The father 
was an artist. The girl excelled in her school 
studies, but was especially good in music and art. 
She was highly dramatic, graceful, self-pos- 
sessed and ladylike. She was the embodiment 
of the physical, mental, artistic and moral train- 
ing taken by her parents prior to her birth — an 
exceptionally, but intentionally, well born child. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 



In the preceding chapter we considered some of 
the more essential things in physical preparation 
for parenthood ; in this chapter I desire to present 
a few practical suggestions for cultivating and 
restraining the principal elements of mind and 
character. 

In preparing for the advent of a new life, pros- 
pective parents should take up such lines of phy- p . n , 
sical, mental and moral training as are best calcu- Parenthood. 
lated to produce the desired results. If possible 
they should begin at least a year before inception 
and continue until the birth of the child. The 
mental training should be thorough. The propen- 
sities should be brought under control and sub- 
jected to the intellect, will and moral sentiments. 
The affections should be strengthened and puri- 
fied. Self respect, dignity of character and some 
worthy ambition should be cultivated. The intel- 
lectual and esthetic powers should be trained so ^^ t p are nts 
as to give keenness of perception, a reliable mem- Should Cultivate, 
ory and a lively imagination. And, most of all, 
the moral and religious sentiments should be 
thoroughly awakened and vigorously exercised, 
so that honesty, reverence, goodness and kindness 
may become the ruling elements of the new soul. 

When there is cause to fear undesirable latent 



i8o 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Opposing Evil 
Tendencies* 



Unfavorable 
Combinations* 



The Training 
Required* 



powers in either parent that might affect the off- 
spring, special training should be directed to over- 
come them. For instance, if there has been drun- 
kenness in the grandparents on one or both sides, 
the prospective parents should be temperate, 
abstain from all narcotics, and cultivate a mental 
state of opposition to intemperance. In like man- 
ner, dishonesty, cruelty, profligacy, licentious- 
ness or any other undesirable trait that is known 
to have been manifest in the lives of the imme- 
diate ancestors should be guarded against by a 
systematic training in the opposite direction. 

When any mental or moral power is very strong 
or very weak in both parents it is apt to be greatly 
exaggerated in their offspring; therefore, special 
training should be directed to overcome or coun- 
teract this tendency. To illustrate : suppose both 
parents are firm and positive yet not so much so 
as to make it a great fault in either ; if these quali- 
ties are kept active by continual opposition, the off- 
spring are apt to be abnormally willful and stub- 
born. Whereas, if both parents avoid opposition 
or contention and cultivate a more yielding, pass- 
ive spirit; the offspring may have even less firm- 
ness and obstinacy than either parent. 

In each individual the various powers of mind 
exist in different degrees of strength, so that in 
prenatal training, both in parental preparation and 
during gestation, some qualities require far more 
training than others. Those that are very weak 
in either parent, should be assiduously cultivated ; 
those moderately strong, require less training; 
while powers that are very strong, may even need 
restraining. The object is to establish a harmon- 



MENTAL PREPARA TION. 1 8 1 

ious, strong, evenly-balanced nature. Some na- 
tures are very slow to respond, and change with 
difficulty; with such persons the training should 
be long and thorough. Others are very respon- 
ive and susceptible and readily take on new con- Susceptibility 
ditions; such require less training to produce a 
given effect. This difference is especially notice- 
able during gestation. Some mothers are highly 
susceptible to external impressions, while others 
are almost insulated from the effects of environ- 
ment. 

Genius is abnormal. Lombroso in his studies 

of men of genius finds that they are nearly all Genius is 

1 u 1 j j.- j Abnormal. 

more or less unbalanced, neurotic, and given to 

extremes. Many of the world's greatest thinkers 

have been subject to hallucinations, dementia, 

monomania, megalomania, chorea, epilepsy or 

other morbid conditions. 

Genius is hardly desirable. Generally speaking, \ 
a well balanced mind is better than a single talent. 
Special genius for a given pursuit — great natural 
talent for music, art, invention, oratory, etc. — 
is almost invariably accompanied by correspond- 
ing weaknesses in other directions. It would 
seem that all the mental power was being ex- ™.^j e t BaIaQC2ci 
pressed through a few faculties, thereby greatly 
augmenting them, but robbing the others. It is 
not unlike the results produced by the horticul- 
turist who trims his trees closely and knocks off 
three-fourths of the blossoms in order that the 
remaining fourth may produce exceptionally fine 
fruit. He sacrifices quantity for quality. 

I am not an advocate of the law of genius, nor 
do I advise parents to attempt to produce special 



1 82 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

super-normal powers in their offspring. If, how- 
ever, parents desire to endow their children with 
any particular taste, or talent, they should concen- 
trate all their forces upon such studies as are cal- 
culated to produce the desired results. They 
should select some quality in which both have a 
Genius. W ^ r degree of natural talent. It is irrational for 

parents to attempt to make a genius of their child 
in a direction in which they are both deficient. 
By selecting something in keeping with their own 
natures, then holding the other powers of mind 
comparatively passive, and assiduously cultivating 
the one talent, it is possible to produce remarka- 
ble results. The prenatal history of a very large 
number of the world's most noted men and wom- 
en of genius, as given by Lombroso, indicates 
that they were the product of the concentration 
of the powers of their parents in a special line. Of 
course, other conditions, such as health, strength 
of constitution, sexual power and general mental 
vigor, must all be favorable if any exceptionally 
rare mentality is to be produced by specific train- 
ing. 

It is a law of mind that like excites like. Pros- 
pective parents, therefore, will be greatly helped 
in their mental training by studying similar sub- 
Like Excites jects. The expression of love excites love ; kind- 
Like, ness, kindness ; the esthetic, the esthetic ; but, un- 
fortunately, the same law applies with equal force 
to undesirable qualities. Firmness excites firm- 
ness ; temper arouses temper ; and a disagreeable, 
fault-finding spirit in one parent is apt to induce 
the same in the other. Both, therefore, should 
strive to be agreeable, but, if either is otherwise, 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 18 



u 



the other should not only refuse to respond in 
like spirit, but reflect the opposite. In this way 
undesirable qualities gradually become weaker, de- Z^e j"h° . 
sirable ones become stronger, and harmony ismony. 
maintained. The old saying, "It takes two to 
make a quarrel," is not truer than its antithesis, 
"It takes two to make a happy home." 

The basis of a successful life is physical cour- 
age, energy and aggressiveness. When these 

qualities are deficient and the deficiency is not_ , 

J . F of cc of 

the result of physical weakness they may be im- Character, 
proved, ( i ) by such a regime of living as will re- 
lieve the system from an excess of adipose mat- 
ter, which tends to make one sluggish and lazy, 
(2) by spending a few hours each day at hard 
work, (3) by striving constantly to feel vigorous 
and active, by willing to be aggressive. Where 
the energies are too strong, so that restraint is 
required, a more passive, inactive life should be 
adopted. I have observed frequently that children 
born while the parents are very active are far more 
energetic than those born when the parents were Qmjosite Results 
living a life of ease. When both parents are ex- from Overwork. 
tremely aggressive and active the children are 
nearly sure to be bundles of nervous activity, to 
go pell-mell into everything and wear out before 
they are thirty, or else are sadly wanting in energy 
— seemingly born tired and never getting fully 
rested. These opposite results are no doubt due 
to the fact that in one case the parents were highly 
active, but had not exhausted their forces; while 
in the other, partial or complete exhaustion in the 
parents, particularly in the mother during gesta- 
tion, robbed the offspring of all physical energy. 



1 84 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Business enterprise, economy and frugality are 
essential traits of character. Persons lacking in 

To Improve the these qualities seldom make a success in life. The 
Financiering . . . 

Instinct, commercial spirit may be cultivated : ( i ) by giv- 

ing special attention to the ways and means of 
making money; by thinking out and planning 
various schemes for the honest accumulation of 
property; by studying the lives of financiers and 
watching the business turns made by successful 
men in various lines of commerce. (2) By count- 
ing the costs and losses of every day and keeping 
a strict account of all expenses; by being rigidly 
economical ; by counting the money often and re- 
peatedly affirming to the inner self, "I will get 
something ahead." "I will make more than my 
expenses this year." "I will be financially inde- 
pendent." 

If proper training is continued for a year prior 
to the initial of life and in the mother during 
Results of gestation — even though both parents are very de- 

Training, ficient in this quality — their offspring will usu- 

ally be economical, and manifest not only a de- 
sire, but some ability for making money. Some 
years ago I examined a little boy whose parents 
were poor, but who were forced through circum- 
stances to put these suggestions into actual prac- 
tice. Their son at the age of ten showed marked 
ability in making money. He was always getting 
A Boy's something ahead. He would turn everything 

Ambition. that had the slightest value into cash and save 

every cent. I asked the lad if he intended to stay 
on the farm when he became a man. "No sir !" 
he replied. "I am going to town. I am going to 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 185 

keep store or go into some kind of business where 
I can make lots of money.' ' 

When the acquisitive instinct is very strong it 
frequently makes one extremely selfish, close and 
miserly. There is a tendency to devote all the Covetousness. 
energies and talents to making money. This 
necessarily prevents the development of the better 
nature. To restrain this tendency one should 
make financiering a secondary thought in life and 
give more attention to other things. He should 
cultivate a liberal, charitable spirit and repeatedly 
affirm a willingness to give and forgive ; to sacri- 
fice self for a worthy cause or the happiness of 
others. By holding mental pictures of liberality 
in the mind and practicing them in the life; by ^holding 
diverting- the attention from all selfish things to Selfishness from 
things of an esthetic, intellectual, or religious, spr 
character; by fostering continually a spirit of 
kindness toward all, and ignoring the demands of 
the propensities, prospective parents may with- 
hold to a very marked extent the monster of sel- 
fishness from their offspring. 

The prospective father should be honest in his 
business relations. 

Business sagacity, when carried to the point of 
deception in the father often becomes trickery and 
crime in his son. I have observed that when a 
man's business requires deception very frequently Trickery in 
his offspring manifest an inclination to follow dis- 
honest methods of making money. 

A business man who was financially embar- 
rassed, to avoid a crash and social ostracism 
forged a draft at a bank where he had been sign- 
ing clerk. The forgery was repeated several 



1 86 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Effects of a 
Father's Forgery. 



Domestic Har- 
mony. 



A Husband's 
Kindness. 



times within three years without detection. 
When the crisis was passed the money was sur- 
reptitiously returned. During the time of his 
crime a bright little boy blessed his home, who 
very early in life developed into a thief. He 
might almost have been called a kleptomaniac, for 
he would steal even when he knew that he would 
be punished for it. A term at the reform school 
failed to cure him. When he was finally lodged 
in prison for forgery, the father broke down in 
the presence of the child's mother and confessed 
his crime. The reform schools and jails of the 
country contain many such sad examples. 

If children are to be well born domestic har- 
mony must be maintained. If the prospective 
mother is repeatedly worried or irritated, if there 
is wrangling or lack of sympathy, the offspring 
are likely to be nervous, peevish, quick tempered 
and sadly w T anting in the happy, harmonious 
traits that usually characterize the well born. Pa- 
rents who would improve their offspring should 
study each other's nature and strive in all ways 
to conform to the requirements, likes and dis- 
likes of the companion. By the constant expres- 
sion of love and kindness, not only when all is 
well, but when things go wrong, even natures 
that are very incompatible may become fairly har- 
monious. 

Perfect harmony is especially desirable during 
gestation. Few things are more unfavorable for 
both mother and child than continual discord 
while the little life is forming. If there is ever 
a time in a woman's life when her soul longs 
for (nay, seemingly must have) a liberal expres- 



MENTAL PREPARA TION. 1 87 

sion of a husband's tender affections, it is dur- 
ing the period of maternity. Little acts of kind- 
ness and gentle words of sympathy or love are 
the very essence of life to her soul ; they are flam- 
ing rubies and sparkling diamonds to her mater- 
nal crown, every one of which will reappear in 
the happy face and loving eyes of her babe. 

Parental affection is the Guardian Angel of the 
young life, an instinct almost divine. No feel- Affection, 
ing common to animal and man is more elevat- 
ing, ennobling or worthy of assiduous training. 
Henry Drummond, in his "Ascent of Man," has 
shown that the parental instinct is the source 
of all the higher virtues in man. Parental love 
is the breath of life to offspring. Every child 
to be well-born should be the product of a yearn- 
ing parental affection ; a longing to have children 
should precede the beginning of the new life. 
During the period of gestation both father and 
mother should love the developing child with all 
the tenderness that they will give to it when 
it is a romping, prattling cherub. The child's 
beginning should be caused by this instinct; its 
embryonic period should be fed by it, then its 
post-natal life, youth and maturity will be marked 
by tender affections and a kindly spirit. 

Children that are not loved before their birth 
are seldom affectionate, companionable or agree- 
able. A most excellent lady came to me with Unaffectionate 
her child, complaining that it was cold, unlov- Children, 
ing and seemingly had no appreciation for her 
affections. She assured me that she was very 
fond of the child, but could excite no response 
in its nature and apprehended that as the child 



1 88 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

grew up she would have no strong bond of 
affection with which to control its life. I asked 
her if the child was desired and tenderly loved 
before it was born. She replied, "No, I can not 
say that it was; really my husband and I did 
not care to raise a family, and not until the 
DisappoStment. P e ™d of gestation was well nigh over could I 
reconcile myself to becoming a mother. It was 
such a disappointment to us that I almost formed 
a dislike for the intruder. Of course I knew that 
the child was not to blame for its existence, but 
still I cannot say that I ever loved it until after 
its birth; but O my! it just seems to me now 
that I could give my life for it." In this con- 
fession she undoubtedly revealed the cause of her 
child's cold, indifferent nature. I have met many 
like cases, but never have I heard such a corn- 
Affection, plaint from a mother whose children were desired 
by both parents and fondly loved during the 
prenatal period. Too much emphasis cannot be 
placed upon this subject. Filial affection in child- 
ren is the reflection of parental love in parents. 
Self-respect and some worthy ambition should 
be interwoven into the life of every child. No 
man ever rises above his ideals. Self-respect is the 

« < f « , basis of character. A low estimation of one's 

Self -Respect and mm-,- • j <• t- 

Ambition. possibilities means certain defeat, hvery man 

who wins nrnst believe in himself; must have an 
ambition to rise; must feel that time and oppor- 
tunity are all he needs to enable him to achieve 
his ideals. 

To cultivate these attributes one should ever 
hold in mind some high ideal, some worthy am- 
bition; then strive to attain it, — to bring the 



MENTAL PREPARA TION. 189 

real up to the ideal. He should repeatedly affirm 

to the inner self, "I am honorable." "I will, I 

do respect myself." "Whatever is unworthy or f ?g^ on ? for 
. , J Strengthening 

ignoble is beneath me. I never do, 1 never the Character. 

will stoop to what is low, small, dishonest or 

disreputable." "I am determined to excel." "I 

will rise." "My life shall command the respect 

of my own conscience, of my neighbors, of my 

God." 

No matter what may be the calling in life, 
whether the parents are engaged in some menial 
service, at some mechanical art, in business, or 
in professional life, the same law is applicable 
to all. Let the street grader excel in placing 
the cobble stones; the gardener with his vege- 
tables ; the business and professional man in their 
chosen vocation; each may raise the standard of p ower f High 
his proficiency and bless his offspring by culti-teeals. 
vating his own self-respect and a worthy ambi- 
tion. I have observed that the children of army 
officers, college presidents, school superintendents 

and others who occupy places of authority, have 

, , , . r . Children of Sup- 

as a rule, much better self-respect and more erintendents. 

self-confidence and tendency to command than 
have those born from parents in whom these 
qualities are not especially exercised. 

Some mechanical ingenuity is required in every 
life. To be born as some are, so awkward that 
they find it difficult to do anything requiring 
the slightest mechanical tact is to say the least ingenuity, 
very annoying. It is not necessary nor even de- 
sirable, that all children be endowed with great 
natural mechanical ability; but where this power 
is sadly deficient in one or both parents, it 



190 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

should be cultivated. To do this it is well to 
devote a little time each day to planning, draft- 
ing, drawing, tool-using, building, making, cut- 
ting, fitting or the consideration of mechanics, 
machinery, architecture, literary construction, etc. 
If the parents will study these things, and espe- 
cially, if the mother will continue the practice 
of them during pregnancy, the child's natural 
mechanical ingenuity will usually be superior to 
that of its parents. 

Inventive genius and creative fancy are the 
gifts of the few. Many who pass for inventors 
. really have but little originality. They have the 

Genius. mechanical ingenuity to put things together and 

thus produce new combinations from the old; 
but originality of conception and design is rare. 
No power of mind is more desirable. Inventive 
genius is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, 
factor in the development of civilization. Take 
out of the world the inventions of Archimedes, 
Gutenberg, Fulton, Stephenson, Davy, Daguerre, 
Morse, Watt, Whitney, Arkwright, Edison, Tesla, 
Bell and Marconi, and the business, commercial, 
social, educational, and even the religious world 
would be at a stand-still. There is scarcely a 
thing that we do that is not dependent upon some 
one or more of the great inventions. 

All parents should strive to increase inventive 

!bve I ntiv?PowenP OWer in their offs P rin g- Not all > to be sure > 
should expect, or even attempt, to produce a Ful- 
ton or an Edison, but all should think, study, ori- 
ginate, strive to create, to get new ideas, to 
work old patterns into new designs, to plan ways 



MENTAL PREPARATION, 191 

and means to accomplish desired ends in me- 
chanics, business, books, science, and art. 

If prospective parents will habitually exercise 
the reasoning and inventive powers, especially 
if the mother will give attention to logic, phi- 
losophy, mechanics and the relation of cause to 
effect during the latter part of the maternal V tr ~ im^tove^ 
iod, usually the offspring will have a fair de- 
gree of inventive talent and originality, even 
where these qualities are deficient in the parents. 
When there is considerable natural talent or 
where there are latent inventive powers, constant 
training on the part of the parents will usually 
give the offspring exceptional powers in this di- 
rection. 

To illustrate: A man who came from an in- 
ventive family, who was not a mechanic, under- 
took to produce a mechanical invention, and 
worked on it for two years prior to the birth 
of his son. During gestation the mother became 
much interested in the invention and entered 
heartily into the study with him. The boy born T , H , f 
under these circumstances began his inventions an Inventor, 
before the age of ten. At twenty-five he had 
produced over twenty original inventions and 
double as many improvements, several of which 
have paid well. That this inventive genius and 
originality of mind were largely the result of 
prenatal training is proved by the fact that the 
older children show very little mechanical in- 
genuity and scarcely a trace of originality, while 
children born after the inventive son, show more 
inventive talent than the older ones, but have 



192 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Art and Music 



Indifferent 
Mentation 
Ineffectual. 



The Perceptive 
Faculties* 



Cultivating Per- 
ceptive Power. 



not the inventive power of the one who received 
the special prenatal training. 

The artistic and musical powers are the dec- 
orators, finishers, refiners and beautifiers of the 
soul. Art and music are no longer luxuries, 
but form an integral part of eery well rounded 
character. Habitual exercise with a spirit to ex- 
cel is all that is necessary in the prenatal train- 
ing of these powers. An occasional recital, the 
singing of a few songs, a half hour at the piano 
or the easel will not make the child an elocu- 
tionist, a prima donna, or an artist. What is 
done simply in a purposeless, mechanical way by 
the mother during gestation has very little, if 
any, effect upon her child; but whatever she en- 
ters into with all her soul, so that it becomes a 
part of her subjective mind and subconscious 
life, will have its effects upon the child. 

The perceptive faculties form the basis of the 
objective mind. The five senses are the medi- 
ums through which they take cognizance of the 
outer world. The strength of these faculties is 
the measure of one's ability to learn objectively; 
the importance of cultivating them, therefore, 
needs no comment. The mind is the standard of 
the man. 

The following suggestions, if put into prac- 
tice, will enable any one to greatly improve his 
perceptive power. (1) Concentrate the mind 
upon one thing at a time. Give it the undivided 
attention and take definite and detailed account 
of all its properties. For instance, if the per- 
ception is by observation in the study, say, of 
a picture, the student should note carefully the 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 193 

individuality, locality and size of every distinct 
part; also the form, color, order of arrangement, 
number and variety, so that a perfect image is 
made upon the mind. If the perception is by 
any of the other senses the same rule applies. 
(2) Habitually train the mind to notice sharply 
every message brought in by the senses. (3) 
Frequently affirm to self, "I will be, I am keen, 
sharp, quick and accurate in perception." "I 
will see whatever is worth seeing." "I will hear 
and distinguish every word and tone." "I will 
notice every message that comes from my senses 
and have a definite concept of everything." 

I have observed a number of children who in 
early life showed a very marked deficiency in Born Dullards, 
perceptive power. Many of these little folks had 
good minds in other ways, but seemed incap- 
able of objective learning. That is, they were 
thoughtful, would talk intelligently and ask ques- 
tions that no one could answer ; but when it came 
to learning a thing from a book they were dul- 
lards. A boy of this type will often lose his 
hat or one of his playthings and call for his 
mother to help him find it, when it is right 
before his eyes. Teachers complain of such 
children because they do not learn as other child- 
ren and will not give attention. 

The frequency of such cases led me some years 
ago to look for causes, with the result that I 
have talked with a number of mothers who had si w to°Leam! 
such children. In several instances I learned 
that the mother had spent much of her period 
in meditating or reflecting, instead of in read- 
ing or observing with the result that her child 



194 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Effects of 
Culture. 



Tommy and 
His Mother. 



Memory 
Defined. 



was endowed with a meditative, thoughtful turn 
of mind; but was highly impractical, a poor ob- 
server, and learned with great difficulty. 

It has long been observed that children born 
of studious parents learned much more read- 
ily than do those born of parents whose vo- 
cations in life require but little activity of the 
intellectual faculties. So clearly marked is this 
difference that any close observer of human na- 
ture experiences but little difficulty, on going into 
a school room, in selecting the children that come 
from homes of culture. 

There is at least a suggestion in the brief dia- 
logue between Tommy Brown and his mother. 
As Tommy was dull in his studies and was being 
severely criticised by his mother for not keeping 
up with his classes and learning as readily as 
did Willie Jones, to which Tommy replied, "Yes, 
I know I am always behind, but you must re- 
member, mother, that Willie Jones has very 
clever parents." 

Memory is the power of mind whereby each 
primary element, feeling, faculty and sentiment 
retains its impression and experiences. Recol- 
lection is the faculty of mind that calls forth 
the slumbering images from the several store- 
rooms of memory and repeats them as conscious 
thoughts, thereby reproducing former experi- 
ences, images, impulses, thoughts, facts and 
knowledge. 

The power of recollection depends largely upon 
the clearness and defmiteness of perception, or, 
as some one has said, -'The measure of attention 
is the measure of memory." This is literally 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 195 

true of memory, but it is not wholly so of recol- 
lection. The power to recall depends primarily 
upon a specific center in the brain, and secon- The ^W ef °* 
darily upon the various powers of perception. 
As knowledge gained in any way, whether by 
intuition, experience, perception, or reason — in 
the schoolroom or out of it — has value to man 
only in so far as he is able to recall it; his power 
of recollection becomes the measure of his edu- 
cation. 

In recent years a great number of systems 
have been invented for cultivating and strength- 
ening the memory. Most of them, however, are fj stesns °* 
more theoretical than practical. Many students Culture. 
who have paid extravagant prices to secure an 
"infallible memory," have found themselves like 
the victim who, when asked about the success 
of his system, said : "The system is a great 
success; by it a man can recall everything he 
has ever read or known, but for the life of me 
I cannot remember the system." 

There are no short cuts to an infallible mem- __ 
ory. Knowing how to employ the various fac- Requires Brain 
ulties of the mind is of great value and a proper Building, 
system of memory training is certainly helpful, 
but the improvement of the memory requires 
brain building and the training of all the intel- 
lectual powers to co-ordinate action. 

To strengthen the memory: (1) The blood 
should be pure and the vital functions strong, 
so that the brain may be well supplied with build- 
ing material. (2) Concentrate the entire atten- 
tion upon the subject in hand. Notice in de- 
tail the specific property of things. In other 



196 PRENATAL CULTURE 

words get a clear, definite and vivid picture of 
the experience, thing, truth, fact or idea to be 
Improving the remembered. (3) Repeat the mental images 
over and over, reproducing in detail every part 
of the original concept, saying to yourself, "I 
will not forget that." "I will remember this and 
that particular thing." "I will recall the entire 
image in all its former perfection." 

The student who gives attention to the train- 
ing of memory and recollection will soon find 
that he has a good memory of some things, but 

Specific no t of others, and that he needs much more train- 

Memories Vary. , . , , t- • 

ing in some lines than in others, .bor instance, 

the memory of faces and places may be excel- 
lent, but the memory of names very poor. In 
such a case a good way is to practice naming 
everything as you see it. Call every person you 
meet by name. Place the names you would re- 
call upon the furniture and things about the 
room, and soon the sight of the thing will re- 
call the name. In like manner, by associating \ 
whatever is difficult to recall with something that j 
is easily recalled the memory of the former will . 
be strengthened. 

If prospective parents will make a practice of 
memory culture, for even a few months prior 
to the inception of life, and the mother continues 
the training during the latter part of gestation, 
they will usually be repaid by seeing their child 
well endowed with this supreme faculty of mind. 
A jolly, hopeful, optimistic turn of mind is 
Laughter is one of the richest legacies ever bequeathed to 
Invigorating. offspring; whily a gloomy, foreboding disposi- 
tion is a sad misfortune. Modern psychology 



MENTAL PREPARA TION. 197 

explains why a happy, trusting mood promotes 
and strengthens, while a morose and discouraged 
mental state retards and weakens every vital 
function and mental power. 

Every one should cultivate a happy, trusting, 
hopeful disposition. Even when there is much 
to discourage one there is always a bright side. £ -™^j g 
A great deal of the care, worry, chafing and Gladness, 
fretting of life is either entirely unnecessary or 
is wholly the result of selfishness. We often 
worry over imaginary evils that never mater- 
ialize, or because we cannot have just what we 
wish, when really, if we only thought so, we 
might be fully as happy without it. 

The influence of parental worrying is too often 
plainly written in the face and disposition of off- 
spring. Many fretful, peevish, never-to-be sat- 
isfied children simply reflect the maternal states 
prior to their birth. In San Francisco I met a 
lady who had two children that were the direct 
opposites of each other. One was the dark cloud, 
the other the "rising sun." Her first child was 
born when she and her husband were struggling 
to get rich, yet much discouraged by reverses Worrying, 
in business. During maternity she became very 
gloomy, and worried much because of the pros- 
pect of this additional burden and expense. Be- 
fore the beginning of the second child's life she 
and her husband had decided that a quiet little 
home, a moderate income and more time for 
enjoyment and soul culture were better than great 
riches and its cares. Her second child was de- 
sired by both parents, and the mother spent a 
very happy season, attending the better class of 



198 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



The Burden of 
Care. 



entertainments and enjoying life greatly. She 
assured me that her younger child, then five years 
old, had never given her as much trouble during 
its entire life as the other one had each three 
months of its existence. 

No amount of money, no condition of life, 
will justify prospective parents in living in a 
worried or gloomy state of mind. If care and 
anxiety must be borne during the maternal per- 
iod the father should bear them and thus relieve 
his wife of every possible burden. If this can- 
not be done in the home, it is better that she 
go away and visit among sensible relatives or 
friends who will appreciate her condition and 
not over burden her with company, but leave 
her free to follow her own sweet will. 

"An honest man is the noblest work of God." 
Deception is the universal sin of the race. It 
robs youth of its innocence, love of its loyalty, 
marriage of its sanctity, friendship of its fidel- 
ity, business of its stability and religion of its 
virtue. The paramount need of the world to- 
day is moral conviction: men and women who 
are honest, who have the moral courage to stand 
by what they know to be right, and who dare 
to be true even in the face of opposition. The 
one thing needed in the solution of all the great 
problems that confront civilization is more hon- 
est men. 

To bring a child into the world devoid of con- 

Inbon? 7 ***** science is not only a crime against its nature and 

against humanity, but a sin against God. To 

have interwoven into every fiber of one's being 

the love of right and truth is a blessing incom- 



Honest Men 
Wanted* 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 199 

parable. To have the "still small voice" strong 
and imperative in its demands means self con- 
trol, honor, virtue and nobility of character. 
Pity the parents who are endeavoring to direct 
children into whose very souls have been inter- 
woven the threads of deception. 

The tendency toward deception is transmis- 
sible. Lying, like gambling and thieving, runs 
through families. I once studied a family in 
which the mother was an inveterate prevaricator. 
She would tell whatever seemed most expedient x^St! * amiy 
and seemingly had no conscientious scruples in 
so doing. The father was comparatively hon- 
est. Of the seven children, one daughter close- 
ly resembled the father and was very conscien- 
tious ; none of the other six could be relied upon. 
All persons of wide experience have observed 
like cases. 

A mother, who was engaged in an agency busi- 
ness in which deception greatly multiplied sales, 
came to me much worried because her little girl a Mother's 
born under these circumstances, was so deceit- Experience, 
ful that she could place no confidence in her, 
while her children born before she entered upon 
this commercial career were comparatively hon- 
est. 

It behooves prospective parents to be honest. 
Honest with each other, not simply in conduct, 
but in character. In addition to being honest 
in thought, word and deed, for the benefit of 
their own souls, and for the inheritance of their Conscience, 
offspring as well, they should put the suggestion 
of honesty into the subjective mind. "I am 
honest." "I do not practice deception." "I will 



200 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



A Dishonest 
Stsccess. 



Woman's 
Greatest Gift to 
the World. 



Kindness. 



be loyal under all circumstances." "Justice shall 
be expressed in every act of mine." "I am a 
true man." "I love the good, the true, the God- 
like." "I am a child of a God of justice, and, 
as his child, my life shall and does express the 
will of the Father." 

If the father's business or the mother's social 
obligations are of such a character as to require 
deception, a change is desirable. A dishonest 
success, even though it accumulate millions, is 
a tremendous failure. If prospective parents can- 
not make a living without practicing deception, 
they had better change, even at tremendous sac- 
rifice, than to continue thus and stamp dishon- 
esty upon their children. Better be a beggar 
and the father of an honest boy than a million- 
aire and the father of a criminal. 

During gestation, particularly during the last 
two months, the mother should repeat the fore- 
going suggestions to her own soul and strive to 
impress them upon her child. If she is rigidly 
honest and will let her soul go forth in earnest 
prayer to God that these principles may become 
embodied in the little life, she will give to the 
world the richest legacy ever bestowed by woman 
— an honest man. 

Kindness is the most divine virtue of the hu- 
man soul. Brotherly love, with kindness toward 
all and malice toward none, is the cream of all 
religion, the opponent of all selfishness, the basis 
of altruism, the elevating principle in civiliza- 
tion. In proportion as men express this virtue 
in their thought and conduct do they become like 
the man of Galilee. The measure of a man's 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 201 

love for humanity — not for his friends simply, 
his church, his party, his nation ; but for his 
enemies and the people of every land, is the The Measure of 
measure of his religion. Altruism as generally Religion* 
considered today is but a higher form of ego- 
ism, but another mode of the "struggle for ex- 
istence" in which a class co-operate in the strug- Altruism* 
gle; but altruism in its broader sense includes 
the brotherly co-operation of all nations — nay, 
I may say all life, from insect to divinity. 

To cultivate the spirit of kindness three things 
are essential : ( 1 ) Avoid all harsh expressions, 
cruelty, selfishness and severity. If it is neces- 
sary to punish a disobedient child or animal, do 
it in the spirit of kindness, but never under the 
influence of anger or revenge. (2) Strive to 
l)e good, tender and kind toward everything and To Cultivate 
everybody. The farmer or stock raiser in being Kindness* 
kind to the animals under his care develops his 
own soul and may implant this supreme virtue 
in the life of his child. (3) Repeatedly affirm 
to the inner self, "I am always kind." "I will 
not cause another needless pain." "I will try 
to make some one happy today." "If my com- 
petitor wrongs me, I will do him a kindness in 
return." "I will not be cruel or severe to any 
one." "I will gladden the home by my pres- 
ence." "I will make the children rejoice at my Suggestions for 
coming." "Wherever I go, there kindness and Soul Gf0Wt{l * 
goodness shall be expressed." "I will not be 
selfish and greedy of power." "I will rejoice 
at my brother's prosperity, for we are all of one 
family, and his gain is my gain; I will sympa- 
thize with him and aid him in his hours of ad- 



202 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



"Reverence and 
Faith. 



versity, for his loss is my loss." "I will shed 
the light of kindness and take the balm of human 
sympathy wherever I go, making glad the hearts 
of men." 

Reverence for God, for old age, for superiors, 
for law, for things sacred and faith in the good, 
the pure, humanity and futurity, are indispen- 
sable to the well-being of society, the advance- 
ment of humanity and the conduct of the indi- 
vidual. Show me a man without reverence for 
gray hairs, law and things sacred, without faith 
in his fellow man or God, and I will show you 
a villain, if not a criminal. 

The absence of true reverence and the lack of 
faith are among the greatest problems, not only 
of the Church, but of the State. If there is 
no reverence for law, then the laws of the state 
become impotent except as they are enforced 
against the offender, but their enforcement is too 
late to prevent the evil conduct. In proportion 
as the moral sentiments are developed in the race, 
in proportion as men come to revere law and 
divinity and have faith in God and man, in that 
same degree does civilization mount upward and 
the life of the individual man become improved. 

Not all truly great men have been religious in 
the generally accepted use of the term; but all 
truly great men have been reverential, express- 
ing sublime faith in man, in nature, in ultimate 
Believe in God. justice, and the final outworking of unerring law 
to give the greatest good to the greatest num- 
ber. Religion is not a tradition, not a doctrine, 
not a book. It is the expression of God's love in 
the souls of men. It is not so much a question 



Reverence 
Essential to 
Government. 



■ ) 



Great Men 



MENTAL PREPARATION. 203 

of believing, as one of living. Whoever lives Basis of 
the Godly life will come to know that God is. Confidcnce - 
Whoever becomes honest, pure, and upright in 
character will come to believe in himself; in pro- 
portion as he does so, will he have faith in his 
fellow man. 

The cultivation of reverence and faith requires 
their daily, nay, hourly expression. Prospective 

parents, even more than all others, should open. , , , 
1 • 1 r , ^ ^ 111 Letting in the 

the windows of the soul heavenward that the Light. 

light from above may fall upon them. They 
should show due respect for whatever is worthy 
and cultivate an abiding faith in each other, in 
humanity, in nature and in nature's God. They 
should let their souls go out in worship, prayer 
and adoration to the Infinite Being. It is seri- 
ous business this, starting a soul voyaging toward 
eternity's shore! 

The Galilean prophet made faith the dynamic 

power of the spirit, the illimitable force of the 

T . . ,, , j. . Faith a Dynamic 

unseen. Its exercise on the part of prospective p 0W er. 

parents will not only lift them above the many 
little cares and worries incident to parentage, but 
will endow their child with this supreme psychic 
power. 

Among the suggestions helpful to the cultiva- 
tion of reverence and faith are these : "I believe 
in God." "He is ever-present." "Divinity tfj^^ 
here." "I live and move in Him, from Him I Faith, 
draw my life." "My soul is continually filled with 
His spirit." "I am free from all the baser ap- 
petites, for I am at one with God." "I shall be, 
I am holy, because He is holy ; my faith has made 
me so." "I have all faith in men, because they 



204 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Goodness in a 
Child's Face. 



Children of 
Light. 



are God's children." "Even as God has trusted 
me, although I often betrayed Him, so will I 
trust my fellow men, even though they deceive 
me, knowing that they will finally come to love 
the better way." "I will, I do have faith in 
God's word and the teachings of Jesus Christ!' 

What an inspiration it is to look into the 
face of a child and see goodness written there! 
How easy it is to guide a child who has a nat- 
ural reverence for its parents, for law and order ! 
How difficult to control one that has no respect 
for God or man! 

I recall with pleasure many children who along 
with their romp and glee were always kind and 
reverential, who lisped His name in prayer as 
naturally as they laughed in play. They were 
born with "their faces toward Jerusalem," and 
long before a line of care had crossed the youth- 
ful brow the light of Golgotha's cross had illu- 
mined the sparkling eye and kissed the rosy cheek 
with the fragrance of Divine love. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. 

Initial Impressions. — Or, the law whereby 
existing physical and mental states of parents; 
particularly the strength and activity of their 
several vital functions and mental faculties at the 
time of conception, modify the heredity of off- 
spring. 

The ultimate possibilities of every man are 
determined largely by three moments, (i) The 
initial of life ; when the creative forces of father- 
hood and motherhood unite to form a soul and Generation, 

start it voyaging toward Eternity's shore. (2) Birth and 

J & & J v ' Regeneration. 

Birth; when the child is severed from the mater- 
nal heart, breathes for the first time the breath 
of life, receives the baptism of the stars, and 
begins the battle of individual existence. (3) 
Regeneration; when a soul is quickened by the 
Holy Spirit, awakened to the consciousness of its 
oneness with God, and takes up the development 
of a spiritual, immortal ego. 

The importance of each of these periods can 
scarcely be estimated. They are the all-deter- 
mining moments of every life, infinite in their Decisive Periods 
possibilities, pre-eminent for good or for evil. °l L *fe» 
From time immemorial the astrologers have em- 
phasized the all-determining power of the 
moment of birth; not that the stars necessarily 



206 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



The Supreme 
Moment. 



A Strange 
Inconsistency* 



The Formation 
of a New Life. 



control the life, but that the new life here steps 
into the procession of nature and thereby becomes 
fixed in the march of time. For centuries the 
ministry has taught the importance of regener- 
ation; "Ye must be born again." Not that the 
new birth is all that is requisite for the develop- 
ment of the Christian character, but that since 
life must precede growth man must be spiritually 
born before he can develop the spiritual life. Let 
us study the importance of the initial moment of 
life and learn something of its possibilities and 
responsibilities. Not that this is the all-determin- 
ing factor in heredity, but that since it is the 
creative moment, while all other influences are 
subsequent and therefore dependent upon this, 
it may well be called the supreme moment. 

It is strange that the wise sages of the past 
and the spiritual teachers of the present should 
attach so much importance to the moment of birth 
and regeneration, and so little to the supreme 
moment upon which all else depends. Stranger 
still that birth and regeneration are considered 
Divinely sacred and are contemplated with rever- 
ence, while the creation of the new life is con- 
sidered almost unmentionable, and is too often 
approached with no thought of parental respons- 
ibility, no feeling of sacred trust, no sense of 
holy consecration and no reverence for God's 
creative laws. If birth and regeneration are so 
important to the natural growth, mundane exist- 
ence and eternal welfare of a soul, how much 
more so must be the moment of its beginning! 
How sacred should be this hour to prospective 
parents! What a sense of reverence, tenderness 



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. 207 

and purity should animate their lives! How 
chaste, honest, kind and earnest they should be 
when they meet with God to form a soul ! 

The law of initial impressions is well estab- 
lished. It has been understood and applied by 
stock raisers for centuries. Experiments prove 
that the qualities most highly excited in animals fc" tia * Impfes- 
prior to their union are most fully transmitted. 
The speed of the horse and the acquired charac- 
ters of the dog have been improved by the appli- 
cations of this law. History and classic litera- 
ture contain many references that recognize its 
importance, like Shakespeare's "Come on, ye 
cowards; ye were got in fear." Ancient law for- 
bade union while parents were intoxicated, be- 
cause such unions resulted in the production of 
drunkards and monstrosities. 

The asylums for the feeble-minded contained 
several hundred unfortunate ones that are the 
product of such unions. Mrs. Stockham, M. D., i^^S^^ 
well says, "Many a drunkard owes his lifelong 
appetite for alcohol to the fact that the inception 
of his life could be traced to a night of dissipa- 
tion on the part of his father." Fleming and 
Demaux have shown that "not only do drunkards 
transmit to their descendants tendency toward 
insanity and crime, but even habitually sober 
parents who at the moment of conception are in 
a temporary state of drunkenness beget children 
who are epileptic or paralytic, idiotic or insane, 
very often micro-cephalic, or with remarkable 
weakness of mind, which is transformed at the 
first favorable occasion into insanity." 

The law of initial impressions, like the other 



208 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Power of Initial 
Impressions* 



Effects of Tran- 
sient States* 



An Editor's 
Daughter* 



A White Sheep 
in a Black Flock* 



laws of heredity, is traced most easily where 
morbid conditions are transmitted; but fortu- 
nately it is quite as potential in the production of 
desirable qualities. Unusual excitement of the 
social, intellectual or religious powers in parents 
just prior to the inception of the new life fre- 
quently produce in the child corresponding tend- 
encies. 

Fowler tells of a mother who conceived after 
she and her husband had spent a most pleasant 
day and evening in company with friends; the 
child became a charming young woman, highly 
sociable, who made friends easily and was a 
great favorite. A boy who was conceived just 
after the parents had attended the last of a 
course of lectures that had proved a great intel- 
lectual feast to them, was quite superior to his 
brothers intellectually. One of the most bril- 
liant women of the South was born from thought- 
ful parents who took special pains to awaken the 
intellectual and dramatic powers in their natures 
prior to the inception of her life. An editor in 
Oakland, California, who had an exceptionally 
bright and promising daughter, assured me that 
her strongest talents were in line with those most 
active in her parents prior to conception. I have 
known of several children who were conceived 
while the parents were under great religious or 
spiritual excitement, that early manifested strong 
religious tendencies, while other children born 
from the same parents, the inception of whose 
lives occurred when the religious emotions were 
unawakened or passive, manifested but little re- 
ligious feeling. Considered as isolated cases the 



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. 209 

foregoing prove nothing, for they might all be 
attributed to other causes, but when we remem- 
ber that there are thousands of such cases they 
become significant. 

Prof. B. F. Pratt, M. D., of Ohio, who has I 
given much attention to this subject, tells of a ] 
boy the initial of whose life occurred while the 
parents were under the magnetic influence of a ] 
most eloquent, inspiring address by James A. 
Garfield. The boy at the time the observations 
were made strongly resembled the martyred 
president. He was far superior to his parents, 
brothers and sisters. His family were very com- A Q , 
monplace people, probably somewhat below the Strange 
average, while the boy was bright, magnetic, stu- Influence * 
dious and in every way a superior, promising 
youth. It would seem that the spirit of Garfield, 
which for the time had taken possession of the 
parents, controlled the heredity of the child. His 
very life, appearance, mentality and ambitions 
seem to have been controlled to a very marked 
degree by the magnetic orator. 

Some have been inclined to discount the im- 
portance of initial impressions because concep- 
tion does not always (and perhaps rarely) takes 
place at the moment of coition. It frequently 
happens that the germ and sperm cells do not The Inception 
unite for hours after coition, and according to • 

some authorities the sperm cell may retain its 
vitalizing power for three days or even longer. 
This being the case, it is argued that the transient 
states will have little, or nothing, to do with re- 
sults. 

Certainly this fact destroys the dream of the 



2IO 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



A Dream 
Destroyed. 



Virility Deter- 
mines Results, 



Vitality of 
Spermatozoa. 



transcendentalists, who advocate that it is the 
union of soul with soul at the moment of coition 
that creates the new soul. Of course this bit of 
poetic nonsense never had any foundation in fact, 
for conception may take place without the slight- 
est feeling on the part of the mother, or even 
without the knowledge that it has occurred. 

The fact that conception does not always take 
place at the moment of coition in no sense mili- 
tates against the law in question. The body, mind 
and soul of the parents are represented in the 
sperm and germ cells, and as are the parents, so 
will be these life messengers. If the father is 
strong, vigorous, magnetic, affectionate and 
pure-minded at the time the sperm cells are being 
generated and when they leave his organism, 
they receive the vivifying influence, vitality and 
character of the father. If he is weak, ex- 
hausted, or depraved like conditions maintain in 
the life messenger. This is not a theory; it is an 
established fact. It has been demonstrated by 
comparing results. Moreover, it may be proved 
beyond question by comparing the vitality of 
spermatozoa. Experimenters tell us that the num- 
ber and strength of the spermatozoa vary accord- 
ing to the strength and vitality of the man. Where 
there is great vigor, the spermatozoa will live for 
hours, or even days, and keep up a continual mo- 
tion ; while, when the vitality of the man is low, 
they cease to manifest life after a few minutes. 
Again, it is well known that children conceived 
directly after the close of the menstrual period 
are as a rule more vigorous in both body and 
mind than those whose conception was farther 



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. 2 1 1 

removed from this period; doubtless this is due 
to the greater vigor of the mother at this time. 

With the foregoing facts in mind we are pre- Season Most 
pared to consider the conditions most favorable Birth, 
for the creation of a new life. First, and per- 
haps least in importance, is the question of the 
time or season most desirable. All nature indi- 
cates that the spring time, all things considered, 
is the best time for a child to be born. Particu- 
larly is this true in a climate where there is a 
great variation of temperature between summer 
and winter. If a child is born in the spring it 
has the advantage of the pure invigorating air 

when its life is most susceptible. It can be taken AJ t 

r . . Advantages of 

out of doors without danger of injury, and in the Springtime, 
many ways have advantages that it could not 
were it born in the fall ; moreover, the bugbear of 
babyhood, teething, if the child is born in the 
spring does not begin until the hot weather is 
almost over, and by the second summer the dan- 
ger in teething is past. 

It is highly important that the physical vigor 
of both parents be at high tide at the time of the 
initial of the new life. Conception should never Physical Vigor 
take place when either parent is tired, exhausted n iS ^ eDsa ' e# 
or in any way indisposed. Even if it is neces- 
sary to take a little vacation it will pay a thousand 
times. Dr. Cowan's suggestion of a month's 
preparation is commendable. The father can well 
afford to relax the strain of business and the 
mother her duties and give a few weeks' time to 
the upbuilding of their vitality in order that their 
offspring may have the advantage of a high de- 
gree of physical vigor. Even a short vacation, 



212 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

Recreation. a trip to the country, a change of scenery, a re- 
laxation from all care and worry and a little 
strengthening of the vital forces prior to the be- 
getting of a new life would have saved thousands 
of parents from many anxious moments and the 
sad disappointment of having a weakly, puny 
child. 

Strong, vigorous, chaste sexuality at the time 

Virility Governs °^ conce pti° n is of supreme importance; it is in- 
Transmission. dispensable to good results. No number of other 
conditions or factors can be so favorable as to 
justify the creation of a new life when the virility 
of either parent is low. Parents transmit their 
physical constitution, intellect and morals only 
to the extent of the strength of the sex power at 
the time of inception. 

Continency should be maintained for a month 

_ T before the time of inception. This will tend to 

xo Increase • • 

Magnetic Power, increase the magnetic power and virility. More- 
over since continence is absolutely imperative 
during gestation prospective parents may well 
learn the lesson of self control. 

The sexual vigor is usually strongest in women 
at the close of the monthly period ; it is therefore 
best that the inception of a new life take place 

est*ViabiIity. at tn * s ^ me - ^ * s unfortunately true that a great 
number of children are conceived when the 
mother is at the lowest point of fecundity. This 
is the inevitable result of the custom of prevent- 
ing conception by limiting coition to the sup- 
posed inviable period. Thoughtful parents 
should avoid this mistake; they should never 
take chances and have their offspring the result 
of an accident. They should live continent lives, 



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS. 2 1 3 

uniting only for the purpose of producing a new 
life, and have this union at a time when their 
vigor and viability are at high tide. 

Next in importance, and closely related to the 
factor of sex, is that of love and confidence. Few 
things are more unfortunate than for a child to 
be conceived without mutual love and tender af- 
fection between its parents at the hour of its in- Confidence^ *** 
ception. If human nature was normal such a 
thing would be exceptionally rare, for sexual con- 
gress in a truly normal state never occurs except 
as the climax of love; but in the perverted con- 
dition in which many persons find themselves 
the sexual union may occur without the slightest 
conjugal affection and even where hatred exists. 

Where the well being of offspring is involved 
there should always be not only a magnetic, ard- 
ent desire, but strong, pure, conjugal love. Love The Vivifying 
is the awakener of all the powers; where it is Power °* Love, 
strong and ardent at this time, it marshals all the 
other forces into action, so that a child of love, 
other things being equal, is always superior to 
one begotten when the affections are passive. 

The union for the creation of a new life should 
occur only after pure thoughts, tender affection, Perfect 
mutual love and sacred associations have grad- Sympathy is 
ually brought the prospective parents into the 
most perfect soul sympathy, awakened all their 
latent forces, and wrought their lives into a per- 
fect union. 

Since the mental states of parents at the time of 
conception affect the offspring, their minds 
should not only be active at this time but active 
in the consideration of such facts and ideals as 



214 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

are calculated to produce favorable results. All 

5? en j*! the intellectual faculties should be exercised by 

Conditions ... 

Desirable. reading, by thinking, by observation, by pleas- 

ant conversation and the exchange of such ideas 
as will tend to bring the two minds into perfect 
accord. If special study for the purpose of pro- 
ducing certain mental traits has been pursued 
during the period of preparation, this should 
form the subject of conversation. 

Finally, before the inception of a new life pros- 
pective parents should enter the Silence and hold 
communion with the living God until they have 
negated the carnal self and exalted the spiritual. 
If they have not known Him as a personal Sav- 

ation. paf " iour, or an indwelling power, this is a good time 

to ask His benediction and begin the unfoldment 
of the higher nature. If they have never prayed 
before, they should now. If ever two souls needed 
the baptism of the Holy Spirit it is in the per- 
formance of this sacred function. If they would 
create a child in God's image, His spirit must 

To Create a animate their natures at this time. Self indul- 
Child in God's -, i u 1 j u a. • 

Image. gence and gross pleasure should have no part m 

this Divine drama. Only after the feelings have 

been purified by prayer, the mind quickened by 

noble, inspiring thoughts and the consciousness 

filled with God's love, should parents unite to 

form a soul. 



CHAPTER XV, 

MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 

Maternal Impressions — Or, the law whereby 
the physical conditions and mental states of the 
mother during gestation — her impulses, emo- 
tions, joys, sorrows, thoughts and sentiments — 
make their impression upon the forming body, E , ,. 
plastic brain and sensitive soul of her offspring. Heredity* 

"Evolutionary heredity is the transmission of 
physical or moral characteristics to the foetus dur- 
ing its development by some extraneous mental 
or physical impressions acting upon the mother." 
— Foster's Medical Encyclopaedia. 

Prenatal culture through maternal impressions 
is considered by most authorities the most effect- 
ual means of transmitting acquired characters. Dr. 
Fordyce Barker says, "The weight of authority 
must be conceded to be in favor of the idea that 
maternal impressions may affect the growth, form 
and character of a forming child." Dr. Talcot, Authorities. 
surgeon of the Woman's Hospital, of New York, 
in referring to this subject, remarks, "I must say 
that I always had considerable skepticism as to 
maternal impressions, and it arose from my ignor- 
ance of the subject. If sudden fright will produce 
malformations, why will not fits of anger or de- 
pression also affect the prospective child?" 
Rokitansky declares, "The question whether men- 



2l6 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Newton on Pre- 
natal Culture. 



Bayer on Mater- 
nal Impressions* 



tal emotions do influence the development of the 
child must be answered : Yes !" 

Mr. A. E. Newton, author of "Prenatal Cul- 
ture," says, "The human embryo is formed and 
developed in all its parts, even to the minutest 
detail, by and through the action of the vital, 
mental and spiritual forces of the mother, which 
forces act in and through the corresponding por- 
tions of her own organism. And while this process 
may go on unconsciously, or without the mother's 
voluntary participation or direction * * * 
yet she may consciously and purposely so direct 
her activities as, with a good degree of certainty, 
to accomplish specifically desired ends in deter- 
mining the traits and qualities of her offspring. 
In other words, it would seem to be within the 
mother's power, by the voluntary and intelligent 
direction of her own forces, in orderly systematic 
methods, to both mold the physical form to lines 
of beauty and shape the mental, moral and spir- 
itual features of her child to an extent to which 
no limit can be assigned." 

Mr. C. T. Bayer, in his treatise on "Maternal 
Impressions," observes, "The influence of the 
mind of a prospective mother upon her child be- 
fore its birth is of tremendous importance to its 
active existence as a member of society, from the 
fact that it lies in that mother's power to shape 
its mentality, that it may be a power for good or 
for evil. * * * Upon all other questions per- 
taining to the welfare and improvement of hu- 
manity the search-light of science has been turned, 
but this most important of all subjects has been 
comparatively ignored, and young men and wo- 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 217 

men have drifted into the joys and sorrows of 
fatherhood and motherhood in most cases as 
ignorant of nature's great and all-important laws 
of reproduction as the most ignorant savage. It 
might be said more ignorant than the Indian, as 
they hold the person of their squaws sacred while 
in process of nourishing or building the body of 
the prospective child." 

Prof. O. S. Fowler, the veteran phrenologist, 
whose years of experience, study and personal 
observations on this subject exceed those of any 
other author, in commenting upon the power of 
the mother to mold the mind and character of her «~, va r 
child, says : "Begin to educate children at concep- Should Begin, 
tion and continue during their entire carriage. 
Yet maternal study, of little account before the 
sixth month after it, is most promotive of talents ; 
which, next to goodness, are the fathers' joy and 
the mothers' pride. What pains are taken after 
they are born to render them prodigies of learn- 
ing by the best schools and teachers from their 
third year; whereas their mother's study three 
months before their birth would improve their in- 
tellects infinitely more. Professional facts, per- 
petually recurring, strikingly illustrate the ma- Fowler's 
ternal ordinance, compel belief and overwhelm servatI0ns * 
with its vast practical importance. Though sure 
that this doctrine is as true as astronomy, yet, in 
revisiting places, I am more and more surprised 
to find how true it is experimentally. The chil- 
dren of the same parents, born after their mothers 
learn and practice this doctrine are much finer 
than those born before, than either parent, and 
than they could have been but for this knowledge 
and practice." 



218 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

History contains many very striking illustra- 
tions of the power of maternal impressions to 

Maternal Imprcs- mo i (j ^he character of the child. According to 
sions and Genius* . ° 

Lombroso, "Cicero, Cuvier, Goethe, Cowper, Na- 
poleon, Cromwell, Scott, Byron, Gray, Swift and 
Wellington are thought to have inherited their 
genius from their mothers. " The genius of Na- 
poleon I. seems to have been particularly the prod- 
uct of prenatal influences. History tells us that 
his mother for some time prior to his birth shared 
the fortunes of war with her husband, on horse- 
back most of the time, acquiring active and health- 
inspiring habits. During this period she was in 
constant peril and danger, not only surrounded 
with, but intensely engaged in, all the pomp and 
circumstance of war; and in this way not only 
became familiar with the horrors and anguish of 
war, but also became reconciled to it and in a 
natal° Training," measure enjoyed it. That Napoleon Bonaparte 
manifested a character quite unlike his ancestors 
is well known to all, and it is not too much to say 
that his early love of power, and his tendency 
toward a military career, as well as the superior 
generalship displayed later, were due largely to 
these prenatal influences. 

Col. William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") whose 
unique career as pony express messenger, Govern- 
ment scout, Indian fighter, Buffalo hunter and 
"Buffalo Bill's" Wild- West Showman is well known, strongly 
Heredity. resembled his mother. He was born during the 

troublesome days of Missouri, and his mother was 
called upon to emphasize those elements of daunt- 
less courage and self control so strongly mani- 
fested in her son. His early frontier life, the as- 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 219 

sassination of his father and the heroism ever 
manifest in his mother, all tended to develop these 
qualities in the boy ; but from having made a very 
careful study of Col. Cody, I am very sure that 
the inborn traits most potential in his life were 
largely the product of maternal impressions. 

Rev. Geo. D. Herron, Professor of Applied 
Christianity in Iowa College, an eminent thinker t 

and advocate of Christian socialism, is reported inheritance. 
as having said, "I may have been converted before 
I was born. During the year preceding my birth 
my mother lived in an atmosphere of prayer, 
studying good books and brooding over her Bible. 
She asked God to give her a child who should be 
His servant, and she besought God to keep me 
upon the altar of a perfect sacrifice in the service 
of His Christ and her Redeemer. She never again, 
nor had she before, reached the spiritual height 
upon which she walked with God during the year 
of my birth. * * * Nothing has ever been 
able to separate her from the belief that in bring- 
ing me into the world she had fulfilled the pur- 
pose of her being, and she never doubted that I 
would be a messenger of God to my fellow men. 
Of all this I knew nothing until after I had been 
preaching the Gospel." 

A careful study of the mentality of any family 
where there are two or more children will demon- 
strate the potency of maternal impressions. The Variations 

differences in the environment, habits, conditions Through 

' , ' Impressions. 

and mental states of a mother will be found clear- 
ly marked in her children. Hundreds of mothers 
have assured me that they could trace their exist- 
ing states in the life and disposition of their chil- 



220 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Testimony of 
Mothers* 



Prenatal 
Education. 



Objections 
Answered* 



dren. In some families, it is true, the factor of 
maternal impressions is far less influential than 
in others. As has been observed repeatedly, each 
factor in the formation of a soul is an unknown 
and every-varying quantity; but no factor is 
more universally potential for good or evil, more 
worthy of profound study, than the one under 
consideration. Dr. Drummond well remarks, 
"The Christian, like the poet, is born, not made." 

The more I study the influence of maternal im- 
pressions upon the life, mentality and character 
of men, the more I am led to believe that the edu- 
cation and moral training that a child receives be- 
fore it sees the light of day are the most influen- 
tial, and, therefore, the most important part of 
its education. 

The objections to the doctrine of maternal im- 
pressions I shall consider at some length in the 
chapter on "Abnormal Impressions. " The prin- 
cipal objection raised is that, since there is no 
anatomical connection between the nervous sys- 
tem of the mother and the embryo, it is impossible 
for her to influence it other than in the matter of 
nutrition. Even if this were true it would not 
preclude the influence of her mental states, for 
"the blood is the life," and every scientist knows 
that the blood partakes of the transient conditions 
of the mental states; anger, jealousy, joy, fear, 
and all strong or unusual emotions perceptibly 
change the character of the blood and modify its 
life-giving power. This fact alone might account 
for most of the physical and mental influences 
exerted by the mother over her forming child. 

The physical relation, however, is not the only 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 221 

one sustained by mother and child. Modern 
psychology has fully demonstrated that one life ^ el f* lon °^ 
may influence another independently of the ordi- Child* 
nary means of physical communication. As we 
shall see in the succeeding chapter, in the light of 
the new psychology it is easy to account for the 
complete registering of all the mother's conditions 
in her offspring. 

The order of prenatal training through 
maternal impressions is plainly indicated by the 
order of the embryonic development. The phys- 
ical organism forms first, and the brain areas that Training, 
control the mentality later. The principal require- 
ments of the embryo in its early development are 
nutrition and freedom; it will require these 
throughout the entire period of gestation also, but 
if they are wanting during the first four or five 
months arrested growth or physical deformity is 
apt to result. The mental conditions of the mother 
are potential during the entire period of gesta- 
tion, but they are especially so during the latter 
part of the period. Therefore, if special stress is 
to be placed upon the physical and mental training 
at different periods, the physical should be first, 
the mental second and the moral last. 

As a general proposition, I would urge the pros- 
pective mother to continue throughout gestation Hygienic Living 
the physical, mental and moral training indicated Required, 
in the preceding chapters. In addition, now that 
she has to eat and breathe for two, she should be 
doubly careful in the selection and preparation of 
her food, and in breathing only pure air. Vigor- 
ous, pleasant exercise, long walks and drives with 
agreeable company are most beneficial. The 



222 



PRENATAL CULTURE, 



The Corset 
Must Go. 



Dr. Stockham. 



Chastity a 
Demand of 
Maternity. 



Helen Gardener- 



morning sponge-bath, followed by the use of light 
Indian clubs, and such exercise as will call the 
abdominal muscles into play are to be recom- 
mended. 

The corset should be abandoned ; it must be for 
the best results. Fowler says : "Tight lacing is 
the chief cause of infantile mortality. That it in- 
flicts the very worst forms of physical ruin on 
woman and offspring is self-evident. No evil 
equals that of curtailing this maternal supply of 
breath. * * * If it were merely a female 
folly, or if its ravages were confined to its perpe- 
trators, it might be allowed to pass unrebuked; 
but it strikes a deadly blow at the very life of the 
race. * * * No tongue can tell, no finite 
mind conceive, the misery it has produced, nor the 
number of deaths, directly or indirectly, of young 
women, bearing mothers, and weakly infants it 
has occasioned. " 

Mrs. Stockham, M. D., says, "If woman had 
common sense instead of fashion sense the corset 
would not exist. There are not words enough 
in the English language to express my convictions 
upon this subject." 

Chastity both in thought and conduct is an im- 
perative demand of maternity. The frequent ex- 
citement of the sex nature in the mother during 
gestation tends strongly to produce lasciviousness 
in her child. Helen Gardener aptly says : "Many 
parents have transmitted to their fallen daughters 
a tendency to commit acts which they whine about 
as tarnishing their family honor. If they had tied 
her hand and foot and thrown her into the river, 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 223 

then expected her to save herself they would not 

have been more truly responsible/* 

Dr. Cowan, in commenting upon the subject of 

continence during gestation, says, "During the 

full period of gestative influence, as well as during P f * £ owan on 
r . *=> ' & Continence, 

the period of nursing, sexual congress should not 
be had between husband and wife. This is the 
law of nature, the law of God, and outside of 
Christendom is never violated. Animals will not 
permit it — savages do not practice it, and in over 
three quarters of the world it is looked upon as 
infamous by our own species." 

I have frequently met with the most bitter 
opposition for advocating continence during ges- 
tation. Strange to say this opposition has often 

come from most excellent men who were highly Defended 0fma 
intelligent upon other subjects. Recently a very 
bright lawyer, a Sunday School superintendent, 
criticised me severely for advocating such a thing, 
declaring that such relations were perfectly nat- 
ural. How absurd! The conduct of all animal 
life is a testimony against it. There is no argu- 
ment in its favor save the argument of perverted 
desire. 

Unchaste maternity is the principal cause of the 
hereditary tendency toward sexual dissipation. 
Most of the human race have been subjected tOD ep ^ity. 
this unnatural, debasing influence during their 
prenatal development. Thousands of noble men 
and women, whose lives are spotless, struggle 
against these maternal impressions from early 
youth to the decline of life ; while millions who are 
considered chaste, are so, only because the present 



224 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



ethics of matrimony allows the unrestricted ex- 
pression of their abnormal desires. 

Breaking the law of chastity during the period 
of gestation and lactation is one of the great 
causes of infant mortality. Many parents by the 
abuse of the marital rights have robbed their off- 
ant Mortality. S p r f n g f physical strength, mental vigor, or moral 
purity. Many who are anxiously caring for a 
puny little weakling, who would gladly sacrifice 
all and deny themselves every comfort to save its 
life, find, alas, that they began their self denial 
too late! Others whose children are strong and 
healthy early manifest tendencies that betray 
their unnatural prenatal training. 

A mother's purity, or the lack of it, will deter- 
mine the degree of innate chastity in her offspring. 
Pure, chaste love and the tender care of mothers 
during gestation and lactation would fill the world 
with rosy-cheeked, happy children and rob death 
of one-half of its infant prey. 

The prospective mother should enjoy absolute 
freedom. She should be relieved from needless 
care and anxiety, and be allowed to assert the 
queenly rights of her own person, and follow the 
mandates of her own instincts and choice. This 
absolute freedom is not only highly essential for 
her comfort and welfare, but it is also of great im- 
portance to her child. If the mother is a slave, 
if she is compelled to subject her will to the will 
of the husband, if she is made to feel that she 
must obey the dictates of another, rest assured 
that her child will be a slave, a born serf, lacking 
in self reliance, independence, sense of freedom 



The World's 
Great Need* 



Maternal 
Freedom* 



Enslaved 
Motherhood* 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 225 

and the self respect and dignity that belongs to the 
well-born. 

History proves that wherever woman has been The Principles 
elevated and liberated she has transmitted the ele- Transmitted. 
ments of freedom and self respecting independ- 
ence to her offspring. Wherever she has been 
enslaved and subjected to the will of another, she 
has given birth to slaves, to men who easily be- 
come the subjects of another's will. One of the 
greatest factors, if not the greatest, that marks 

the difference between the progress made under P?*** 048 *** Born 

of Free Women* 

the Christian religion and under pagan religions 

is the independence and personal liberty that 
Christianity has brought to women. No republic 
can survive that enslaves womanhood, and no 
monarchy can maintain its power to rule over men 
born of free women. 

The general surroundings in and about the 
home of the prospective mother should be as beau- 
tiful and agreeable as possible. Every mother in- i n fl oe nce of 
terweaves the impressions made by her sur- Surroundings. 
roundings into her child. If the home and its ap- 
purtenances are simple, rough and crude, the child 
will partake more or less of these conditions. If 
the mother is surrounded by beauty, art, flowers 
and music, these elements and their refining in- 
fluences will become a part of the child's inherit- 
ance. The ancient Greeks believed so strongly 
in the potency of prenatal environment, that they 
not only guarded mothers from whatever was 
coarse, vicious and cruel, but gave them the kind- 
est care and surrounded them with beautiful 
works of art. 

It has long been observed that nearly all Ital- 



226 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

ian beauties conform to one type. Also that there 
is a striking resemblance between many of Italy's 
fairest women and Raphael's masterpiece, "The 
Madonna.'' Copies of this great painting are 
found on the walls of almost every Italian home. 
It is thought that the continual worshiping of 
Madtonna, ^ s beautiful picture by prospective mothers has 

done much to shape the features and expressions 
of thousands. Little did Raphael know when he 
wrought so well that he was making a model to 
be reproduced in life. And how do we know but 
that in the inspiration that enabled Raphael to 
produce this beautiful painting God was express- 
ing one of His own ideals to men ? 

There are many instances where a mother has 
given to her child a facial expression not unlike 
a much admired picture or loved friend. Frances 
* E. Willard is said to have resembled very strongly 
in personal appearance a sweet young woman o£ 
whom Miss Willard's mother was very fond. 

While in Boston recently I studied two sisters 
who manifested in a very marked degree the in- 
fluence of the mother's environments. The elder 
daughter, born on a Western ranch, where her 
parents lived in a sod house amid crude surround- 
Opposite Tastes ings, with Indians for neighbors and no relaxation 
in Sisters. from ceaseless toil ; she was strong, practical, mat- 

ter of fact, rather uncouth, with very little ar- 
tistic or decorative ability. The younger, born 
twenty years later, when the family lived in a 
comfortable home, surrounded by beautiful 
grounds, flowers and works of art, is a natural 
artist, refined, poetic, imaginative and graceful 
in every motion. Some of this difference undoubt- 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 227 

edly was due to the postnatal training and early 
environments of the two ; yet much was certainly 
due to prenatal influences. 

The fact that a mother can influence her off- 
spring even in the slightest degree by prenatal 
training should make her careful in the selection 
of her company, the books she reads, the thoughts 
she entertains and the ideals she holds uppermost 
in her soul. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS CONTINUED. 

I shall devote this chapter to specific prenatal 
training by maternal impressions. I shall indi- 
cate as nearly as possible the periods when the 
several elements of the child's mind seem most 
easily influenced. The methods of training out- 
lined are intended merely as guides, not as arbi- 
trary rules. I am conscious that the suggestions 
offered in the preceding chapters as well as those 
to be given in the present are open to criticism, 
however, I trust that they will prove helpful to 
those who desire to improve themselves or their 
offspring. 

The brain is most easily molded during em- 
bryonic development. Repeated thoughts, emo- 
The Formative tions, suggestions, or images will change its form 
and structure even late in life, but the older the 
brain, other things being equal, the less susceptible 
it is to impression and change. A child's brain 
and character are more easily molded than are 
Prenatal Impres- the adult's. The younger the child the greater 
sionsMost its susceptibility. Prenatal impressions are more 

potential than postnatal. When the brain areas 
are forming it is possible for the mother by the 
assiduous exercise of mental powers to greatly 
modify the hereditary tendencies and to improve 
the mentality of her child. 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 229 

In considering the potency of maternal impres- 
sions, it is well to bear in mind that there are no 

short cuts in nature. Insignificant causes never No Short Cuts 

in Nature. 

produce great results. The popular notion held 

by many and even advocated by some writers, that 

just a little training at a certain time during the 

maternal period will produce a genius, is without 

foundation in fact. 

Special genius resulting from sudden psycho- 
logical impressions like birth marks and mon- Transient 
strosities is an abnormality and not a product of Oot«ow*u 
natural growth and development. Moreover, 
gifts and peculiarities so acquired are seldom per- 
manent, but are usually outgrown in early life. 

The fixed factors of heredity and the established 

types of character are not readily overcome. This 

is a wise provision of nature. If it were possi- £? fS j t S? c y °* 
1 . r Fixed Factors* 

ble, as some would have us believe, to completely 
change the disposition of a child by a little special 
training at a certain time, the race would have 
no stability, no unanimity of character. 

The prospective mother who would do well by 
her child, should be patient, earnest, constant and Persistent Train- 
persistent in her training. She should not expect "^ e< * UIfe 
that a unit of training on her part is going to pro- 
duce ten of genius in her child; but as oft re- 
peated postnatal impressions do mold and form 
the character of the child, so all earnest, heart- 
felt emotions, thoughts and sentiments oft re- 
peated to her forming babe will become a part of 
its future life and character. 

The animal propensities from which spring the 
love of life, appetite, energy, secretiveness, the 
instinct of self preservation, and the tendency to 



230 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



The Animal 
Propensities* 



No Rule Appli- 
cable to Alt 



Appetites and 
Longings* 



Courage and 
Energy. 



acquire, seem susceptible to maternal impressions 
during the first six months of gestation. To be 
sure they are susceptible throughout the entire 
period and therefore should receive careful train- 
ing, but since they develop before the intellectual 
faculties and moral sentiments, it is possible to 
influence them at an earlier period. 

No specific rule is applicable to all cases 
for the training of these or any other powers. In 
some the propensities need cultivating, in others 
they need to be restrained ; therefore the prenatal 
training required in any given case is determined 
by the disposition of the parents and the conditions 
of the mother. 

In all cases the alimentative appetite should be 
kept normal, only plain, non-stimulating foods be- 
ing used. This is especially important, if there 
are reasons to fear an inherent appetite for nar- 
cotics. If the mother has a special longing for any 
particular article of diet, it is best to gratify it 
at once, as its gratification is not nearly so apt to 
produce an abnormal desire in the child, as is the 
continual longing for it. This fact will be readily 
understood by psychologists. 

The suggestions given in a former chapter, 
touching upon the cultivation and restraining of 
energy, of self control and the acquiring instinct, 
are particularly applicable to this period. A 
mother who is much overworked is apt to give 
birth to a child greatly deficient in energy and 
force of character. The same results might be 
produced by a life of idleness and indolence. If 
she has cause to fear that her child will be want- 
ing in courage and energy, she should exercise 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 231 

these qualities and assiduously cultivate her own 
force of character. She should affirm, "I am vig- 
orous, I am free;" "I have no fear of anything 
nor any one;" "I will overcome every opposition." 
These affirmations should be repeated not only in !y g2 ^t]! ons t0 
the Silence, but frequently to herself during the Courage, 
day. She should silently say to her child, just as 
she would say to another person, "You are 
strong," "You are energetic," "You are mamma's 
brave little man." If there are reasons to believe 
that the energies are liable to be too strong, an 
opposite training should be given. 

The acquiring, or mine and thine instinct, 

should be carefully directed from the fourth to the ~, A u . 

• 1 1 -rr • • r • • r m The Acquisitive 

eighth month. If it is deficient in the family, the Instinct. 

mother should persistently cultivate it, both by 
practicing economy and by entering into some 
line of business that will call this propensity into 
constant action. I have observed that children 
born from business women, especially where the 
mother has continued in business during the 
period of gestation, are usually highly acquisitive 
and early manifest a commercial spirit. 

Owing to the tendency to abuse the acquiring 
propensity, in our commercial age, the prospective H . . 
mother should be particularly careful to be rigidly Imperative. 
honest in her business relations and in the cultiva- 
tion of this propensity. The thought of getting 
should always be accompanied by the thought of 
getting honestly, and of using for a worthy pur- 
pose, otherwise there is great danger of producing 
an abnormally selfish or even thieving tendency in 
the child. At P , Michigan, I studied a six- 
year-old boy who was much inclined to steal. I 



232 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

spoke to the mother of her boy's morbid tendency 
and was told in a very frank but indifferent manner, 

A Mother's that before the birth of the child the husband was 
making money but was unwilling to share it with 
his wife. She would therefore sit up working at 
night until the husband was sound asleep and 
then take from his pockets as much change as she 
dared without fear of discovery. In this way she 
pilfered over one hundred dollars without being 
detected. The boy, she said, was an exceptionally 
cute thief; he would go into his father's store, 
watch for an opportunity to get into the show- 
case or money-drawer, quietly slip something into 
his pocket, then walk out looking as innocent as 
if he had never thought of doing wrong. 

As the parents of this child are considered hon- 
est, when he has to be sent to the reform school 

Who is to Blame, or state's prison his crime will generally be at- 
tributed to bad company or environments. Most 
persons knowing the family will blame the boy, 
but God knows that the mother, through her own 
dishonesty, made it easy for him to do wrong and 
difficult to do right. 

The social feelings seem most susceptible to 
maternal impressions during the fifth, sixth and 

The Social seventh months. This, therefore, is the time for 

Feelings. ^he mother to exercise her social nature, if she 

would have her child well endowed with these 
feelings. She should cultivate a pure, sweet love, 
and parental affection, and go sufficiently into 
society to call all the social instincts into action. 
If these feelings are abnormally strong, an oppo- 
site course should be pursued. 

Most prospective mothers are prone to avoid 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS, 233 

society and by living a secluded life exert an in- 
fluence over the child that makes it extremely dif- 
ficult for it to be free and easy in company. Few ^ky Children 
, . . J ' . , , . - , ar e Bashful. 

things are more destructive to the social life and 

happiness of a person than to have inborn 
tendencies to shrink from society. Many suffer 
all their lives from such maternal impressions. 
Early associations and opportunities largely de- 
termine one's ease in society and ability to enter- 
tain, but if a child is born with a cold, retiring, or Self-Conscious- 
super-sensitive nature, or if it has been made un- ness. 
duly self-conscious by prenatal influences, no 
amount of training and social intercourse can en- 
tirely eradicate these conditions. 

The perceptive faculties seem most susceptible 
to training during the last four months of gesta- 
tion. These faculties give the power to perceive, The Doors of 
to learn, to know, and to recall what has once been 
known. They are the primary elements of the 
objective mind. They are the doors through 
which the subjective mind receives its knowledge 
of the physical world. If the mother desires to 
improve these faculties in her offspring she should 
vigorously exercise them during the latter half 
of her period. She should give special training 
to whatever is weak in herself or whatever she 
would have especially strong in the intellect of 
her child. 

The mother who reads and studies with an in- 
terest will usually endow her child with an apti- Shaping the 
tude and appreciation for study. Moreover the Tendencies, 
nature of study pursued tends strongly to deter- 
mine the bent of the child's mind. To illustrate : 
a lady whose husband was a physician, became 



234 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

interested in the study of chemistry during this 
period. Her child early manifested a strong tend- 
ency in the same direction. A mother in Cali- 
fornia gave much of her time to the study of 
poetry and the writing of verse ; her child, now a 
young lady, is passionately fond of poetry and a 
very clever versifier. At Salinas, California, a 
physician brought to me his eleven-year-old 
daughter who was a natural mathematician. The 
doctor assured me that it was a case of prenatal 

a hit At x. i influence. It seems that the mother's education 
A Mathematical 

Child, had been sadly neglected, she scarcely knowing 

the multiplication table. During the period of 
gestation she kept a small store, where the making 
of change, the keeping of accounts, etc., taxed her 
untrained faculties very much. The doctor said 
he would frequently hear his wife adding, multi- 
plying, or subtracting in her sleep. The child 
without any special application led her classes in 
mathematics. 

The foregoing cases seem to indicate two very 
important facts : ( i ) that the class of reading or 

Mental Activity* study pursued by the mother materially modifies 
the mentality of the offspring and (2) that the 
faculties of mind which are exercised most poten- 
tially affect the offspring. Upon the influence of 
different classes of reading, I shall have more to 
say later. In this connection, I desire to empha- 
size the fact that strong mental powers in the 
mother do not insure a corresponding mentality 
in the child unless she exercise these powers dur- 
ing this period. Again, even though certain facul- 
ties are comparatively weak in the mother, by her 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 235 

thoroughly cultivating them they may become 
very strong in the offspring. 

I have frequently observed that the children 
born from mothers of superior culture, whose £■ Noteworthy 
minds were for the time inactive, show less apti- 
tude for study than children born from mothers of 
less culture, but whose minds were kept thorough- 
ly active during this period. 

As previously indicated, the class of literature 
read by the mother during this period tends to 
modify the natural bent, likes and dislikes of her 
offspring. If the awakening of the intellectual 
faculties was the only object of reading, then What to Read* 
whatever created the most intense interest, and 
excited most thoroughly all of the intellectual 
faculties would certainly be best; but because of 
the aesthetic and ethical influence exerted by dif- 
ferent classes of reading, it becomes of great im- 
portance that the mother selects and reads only 
that which she would have become a part of her 
child. 

All are agreed that the reading of trashy and 
vicious literature is most demoralizing. Minds Bad Literature, 
are made up largely of what is put into them. A 
man is seldom better than the books he reads. 
Thousands completely disqualify themselves for 
any place of responsibility by so thoroughly filling 
their minds with trash that they are incapable of 
connected or concentrated thought. The reading 
of the "yellow backed novel" has been the prin- 
cipal factor in awakening and developing the 
criminal propensities in many now behind prison 
bars. 

A few years ago, an Oregon preacher entered 



2^6 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



A Novel-Read- 
ing Preacher's 
Fate. 



Epidemics of 
Crime. 



Juvenile 
Offenders. 



Heredity versus 
Environment 



a bank in Portland at an early hour in the morn- 
ing, and with a masked face and revolvers in 
hand, held up the teller. At the preliminary trial 
the wife said that for months her husband had de- 
voted a great part of his time to reading the exag- 
gerated accounts of outlaws, bank robbers, etc. 
Such a mania had this become, that she frequently 
caught him reading a burglar story which had 
been placed in the open Bible, in order to deceive 
her. Of course the reverend gentleman was of un- 
sound mind when he made his debut as a profes- 
sional burglar; but his monomania was probably 
the result of the class of literature he had been 
reading. 

Many similar cases are on record. Criminalo- 
gists tell us that any fiendish crime, the account 
of which is widely circulated and generally dis- 
cussed, is apt to be reproduced in the desire of 
hundreds, in the conduct of many, and may even 
become epidemic. 

The influence of the stories of crime is most 
marked among the young. Almost every police 
record contains the account of several boys who 
have been arrested for arson or an attempted hold- 
up, who, when questioned as to the cause of their 
conduct, have expressed a desire to do and become 
like some notorious outlaw, of whom they had 
read. Most of these boys had a hereditary tend- 
ency or fondness for such things, but the vicious 
story was undoubtedly the exciting cause. Here, 
as in many other cases, it is difficult to discern 
which is cause and which effect, or how much of 
conduct springs from hereditary tendencies and 
how much from environment. That the reading 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 237 

of such trash does not excite a desire for crime 

in thousands of well-born boys proves that a bad 

heredity is in part the cause. On the other hand 

the fact that many who are unfortunately born, 

but who are not allowed to read this class of 

stories, never manifest any special ambition for 

heroic crime proves that the criminal stoiy may 

also be the actuating cause. 

Bad reading being so potent for evil in the lives 

of men and women whose habits of life and whose 

brain centers are established, is far more powerful Y icious . 

' r Impressions* 

when impressed upon a soul in its formative pe- 
riod. Every mother who reads trashy, vicious, 
vulgar, or criminal literature commits a crime 
against her child. What can be expected of chil- 
dren when the mind of the mother was idle at this 
formative period, or occupied by fiction of a ques- 
tionable character? 

The prospective mother, who would do well 
by her child, should select only the very best and 
then read sufficiently each day to keep the intel- 
lectual faculties thoroughly active. This read- 
ing, of course, should be varied, embracing as far 
as practicable, literature, art, science, commerce, 
law, government, philanthropy, and religion. As 

she reads or studies, she should endeavor to im- n «. . 

r 1 1 1 • 1 r 1 i-ii« Reading for 

press her thoughts on the mind of her child, just Prenatal Culture. 

as she would if reading to a friend. She should 

have some one with whom she can discuss 

what she reads, who is in sympathy with her, as 

the husband must be, for the best interests of the ? gSdy! 0nShip 

child. It is well to remember that whatever creates 

an intense interest is most potential. Simple pas- 



238 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

sive reading is better than idleness ; but it cannot 
prove of any great value to the child. 

During the latter period of gestation the moth- 

Unstudious er's mind should be kept thoroughly active. Exer- 

Mothers. cise strengthens, idleness weakens. An inert mind 

or faculty is not transmitted. Many children are 
positively stupid as soon as you place a book in 
their hands, because the mother's mind was idle 
prior to the child's birth. Others who show no in- 

St 'd Child terest in study or ability to learn, yet are bright 
and chatty, are the direct product of the light, gos- 
sipy life of the mother. Parents frequently com- 
plain to me that they "just have to force their chil- 
dren to go to school, that they cannot get them to 
read and that they never keep their minds on a 
book for a minute." Often these conditions are 
caused, no doubt, by the child's being sent to play 
and not taught to study, or the class of reading se- 
lected is not interesting to the young mind; but 
many are so because of the unstudious life of the 
mother during gestation. 

During the sixth, seventh and eighth months 
the semi-intellectual, or mechanical, and esthetic 
faculties are most susceptible to impressions. 
These faculties are the principal elements of mind 

The Esthetic employed in music, art, construction, creative 
fancy and imitation; they also play a part in in- 
vention, science, logic, and philosophy. Special 
rules for their cultivation were given in the chap- 
ter on "Parental Preparation." If, however, the 
mother desires to strengthen any one or several 
of these powers in her offspring, this is the period 
when specific training will be most potential. If 
she be too imaginative, fanciful, or poetic by 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 239 

nature then by cultivating a purely mechanical, 
practical, matter of fact way, she will generally 
be able to withhold the excessive esthetic tendency 
from her offspring. 

In addition to the general training of all the 
esthetic faculties, if the mother is anxious to over- 
come any weakness that she has reason to believe Oy e a fC0 ^ 
might be transmitted by one or both parents, this 
is the time to build the brain and form the 
mentality desired. For instance : I knew a family 
in which both father and mother were deficient in 
musical talent. The mother took music lessons 
during this period with each of her three children. 
With all her training she was barely able to play 
simple church music, yet her children learned 
music readily, the youngest being very clever. 

Again, if there is any particular quality, talent, 

or phase of genius, arising from these faculties 

which the mother desires to increase, training at 

this period will tend to produce the desired results. 

Nearly all great musicians, painters, poets, artists, 

writers, inventors, orators, and men of letters, -. . f - . 

... Special Genius* 

whose superior qualities were due to maternal 

impressions, received their prenatal training from 
the sixth to the eighth month. This is indeed the 
seed time for mothers. Thoughts and truths now 
implanted produce an abundant harvest in the 
mentality of offspring. But, since the law of 
"each after its kind" is as true in mind as in 
garden or field, it is highly important that the 
pictures, images, songs, dreams, ambitions and 
aspirations occupying the mind are of a proper 
character. 

What was said relative to baneful influences of 



240 PRENATAL CULTURE, 

improper literature, is equally true of obscene 

Picture pictures, scenes of cruelty, severity, and slaughter. 

Impressions. Many monstrosities have been produced by the 

mother's having viewed some atrocious crime or 

scene of horror. 

Space forbids my recounting many of the note- 
worthy cases in history showing the direct in- 
fluence of maternal impressions in producing 
special gifts. A case of interest that has not been 
published came under my personal observation 
some years ago. A mother, whose husband was 
in the employ of Thomas Edison, became very 
much interested in electrical inventions. During 
the last three months of gestation most of her 
time was spent in studying electricity. Being of 
' an inventive turn of mind she tried to perfect 
a patent, and not only worked at it every conscious 
hour, but would dream of it. Her boy, at the 
age of 14 had perfected a number of clever inven- 
tions. He had everything about the home oper- 
ated by electricity. The mother assured me that 
the child began constructing as soon as he could 
sit alone. 

// a mother would transmit her special talents, 
she must exercise them during gestation. Many 

^ L „ mothers who were very clever in mechanics, music, 

Dormant rowers ' 

not Transmitted, drawing, painting, elocution, or literary construc- 
tion, have been greatly disappointed to find that 
their children possessed but a minimum of these 
talents. In some instances this is due to the 
father's influence or to other factors in heredity, 
but it is frequently owing to the inactive state of 

the faculty in the mother. A Mrs. S , of 

Washington, an accomplished musician, went into 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 241 

business, her time being fully occupied in her new 

vocation, but her music was wholly neglected. A 

child born after two years of business life man- ^ usiaI ^ aIent 

ifested less than half the musical talent of an elder 

sister born while the mother was a music teacher. 

A Mrs. Hammonds, of Ohio, a born mechanic, 
was very clever in drafting, planning, and the use 
of tools, had one boy born while exercising these 
qualities. He read the Scientific American and 
the mechanical journals as soon as he was old 
enough to read. He learned things of a mechani- 
cal nature very easily — clock works were his play- 
things and building was his hobby. During the 
period of gestation with another child Mrs. 
Hammonds was so situated as to afford no oppor- 
tunity for the application of her mechanical pow- a Strange 
ers, her time being spent amid flowers, poetry and Contradiction. 
music. Her child born under these conditions 
was passionately fond of flowers, was good in 
music, but painfully awkward in mechanics. It 
was with extreme difficulty that she learned to 
lace her shoes, sew on a button, and she never 
was able to work a buttonhole properly. Pos- 
sibly, the father's being deficient in mechanical 
ingenuity was the cause of the child's inefficiency, 
yet since the other transient states of the mother's 
mind were so plainly manifested it would seem 
that the inactivity of the constructive faculties 
was the principal cause. 

The aspiring sentiments seem especially sus- 
ceptible to impressions during the last three 
months of gestation. These sentiments form the The Aspiring 
basis of ambition, dignity, pride, love of approval, Scntlments ' 
individuality and stability of character. If any of 



242 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Overcoming 
Sensitiveness. 



Maternity is 
Divine* 



A Queenly 
Mission* 



these powers are too weak in the mother, they 
should be most diligently cultivated, or if too 
strong, restrained. This is the period for the 
mother to mold the ambition, the self-respect, 
the dignity, the stability, and the aspirations of 
her offspring. 

If the mother is very sensitive, she should go 
out much, entertain her friends and strive to 
overcome this weakness. Many children are ready 
to cry at the approach of a stranger. Many 
grown people are so sensitive and self-conscious 
that they cannot do justice to themselves in pub- 
lic. It is criminal to so endow a child. There 
are many whose super-sensitiveness is simply 
painful. This hereditary sensitiveness is largely 
due to the practice so common among prospective 
mothers of keeping themselves secluded from 
society, afraid to be seen and ashamed to have 
any one notice their condition. 

Maternity is normal ; maternity is divine ! She 
who is engaged in this sacred function has just 
cause to be proud. She is worthy of the homage, 
respect, and admiration of all men and women. 
She should walk the streets, go shopping, attend 
the theater, the lectures, or the church, not with 
a sense of timidity, but with a conscious pride. 
She should hold up her head and, instead of try- 
ing to conceal her condition, go about without 
the slightest embarrassment. Even if criticism 
shall come, as a result of present social ethics, let 
every prospective mother go anywhere and every- 
where that will cultivate her self-reliance, her 
intellect, or ennoble her sentiments, ever conscious 
of her queenly mission. 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 243 

The faculties of reason, intuition, agreeable- 
ness, mirth, and the principal elements of the 
imagination are seemingly susceptible to impres- 
sion only during the last three months of gesta- 
tion. The suggestions given in the chapter on 
"Parental Preparation" will serve as a guide to 
the prospective mother. If she desires to 

strengthen these powers in her offspring, or to 

1 ill 1 • 1 • i- Reason, Intuition 

give her child a strongly original or imaginative and imagination. 

turn of mind, she should study science, logic and 
philosophy and thereby exercise the faculties in 
question. Making inquiry into the cause of 
things, reasoning carefully, thinking, meditating, 
all tend to strengthen the reasoning faculties. By 
the mother striving to interest the child in what- 
ever she is studying, just as she would if it were 
an inquisitive little urchin pulling at her apron 
and asking "Why," she will more effectually con- 
centrate her forces upon the forming brain. 

It is highly important that the faculties of 
mirthfulness and agreeableness be cultivated at 
this time. ( 1 ) Because these are two very essen- 
tial traits in character sadly wanting in most lives. 
(2) Because the average mother, for various 

• Imoortance of 

reasons, is likely to be downcast, discouraged, or Mirthfulness. 

gloomy during gestation. The faculty of mirth, 

wit or humor seems to exert a healthful influence 

over the entire mind. It is like a refreshing 

breeze at mid-day, when one is sweltering under a 

burning sun. It is like the music of the babbling £i G ,?°? 
. 11 111 1 • 1 • 1 1 • Medicine, 

brook that gladdens our hearts with its laughing 

melody as we climb the steeps of life. Laughter, 

wit and humor promote all the vital functions, 

aid digestion, quicken the circulation, increase 



244 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

respiration, promote the activity of the liver, and 
in every way "doeth good like a medicine." 
Smiles versus An agreeable, polite, cordial manner is one of 

Frowns* ^iq best weapons with which to fight the battles 

of life. Who is there so low in the scale of human 
sympathy, so dead to the influence of a smile, 
that he does not prefer to associate with one who 
is always agreeable and pleasant? Few things 
are more destructive to health and happiness 
than the habit of complaining, fault finding, look- 
ing sour and saying disagreeable things. Every 
smile that flashes across the face becomes a part 
of the inner soul and tends to light it up with 
joy; while frowns and scowls soon make one 
sordid and melancholy. 

The prospective mother should ever cultivate a 
happy, sunny, agreeable manner; she should re- 
Rejoice and Be member that her condition is perfectly normal 
^ lad * and therefore there is no cause for anxiety. If 

she lives in accordance with nature's laws, she 
has nothing to fear and may well rejoice and be 
glad that she is as she is. She should go much 
in the society of jolly, happy, fun-loving people, 
read the better class of humor, attend pleasing 
entertainments, indulge in the recital of ludicrous 
incidents, turn her mirthful impulses loose and 
get as big a laugh out of every occasion as is 
possible. She should take the sunny side of every 
J oy# subject; make it a rule to smile and to be as 
agreeable as possible; striving in all ways to be 
happy and to make others happy. If she will 
cast aside all care and cultivate this mirthful, 
agreeable, sunny spirit, endeavoring at all times 
to thrill the little one's soul with joy and glad- 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 245 

ness some day, she will see all her pleasant smiles 
reflected in a happy face ; her mirth will have be- 
come a rippling river of laughter in a dimpled- 
cheeked child of joy. 

Repeated experiments, in hundreds of well 
authenticated cases, indicate that the moral nature Influencing the 
of the foetus is most susceptible to maternal im- m ° nts# 
pressions during the last two and a half months. 
Therefore the rules given in the previous chapter 
for the cultivation of the moral sentiments should 
be most fully applied at this time. 

It is an established fact that the earnest, per- 
sistent exercise of the moral and religious senti- R c Hgi 0US T en ^. 
ments by the prospective mother tends to give encies may be 
to her offspring a conscientious, reverential spirit, ransimt e • 
so that a religious life is in a sense natural to it. 
The great significance of this fact cannot be fully 
comprehended. What marvelous results might 
be achieved for the cause of Christianity — for the 
salvation of men, and for the upbuilding of the 
whole human race were this law appreciated and 
practically applied ! 

The Bible contains many striking illustrations 
of the influence of a mother's mind. Samuel was 
ordained "from his mother's womb." Mary, the Ordained from 
mother of Christ, was in the upper hill country of Birth* 
Judah's balmy clime, full of heavenly joy and 
spiritual exultation. "My soul doth magnify the 
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my 
Savior." It is strange that the ministry has 
placed so little emphasis upon the many passages 
of Scripture bearing upon this all-important sub- 
ject. With their opportunity to instruct, had they 
made this law clear to their parishioners, thou- 



246 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Born Preachers, 



Dedicated to 
God's Service. 



sands of children might have been born with 
strongly religious tendencies. 

It has long been observed that the most devout, 
natural preachers strongly resemble their mothers. 
Martin Luther is said to have received his de- 
votional spirit from maternal impressions. Sev- 
eral years ago, at a Chautauqua assembly, I heard 
one of America's great preachers say, "Next to 
my God, I owe my success in the ministry to my 
consecrated mother, who, before I saw the light of 
day, ordained me to God's service." 

Many now engaged in the ministry have thus 
been dedicated to the cause of Christianity by 
the prayers of devoted, spiritual mothers. Some 
years ago while traveling in the West a dear old 
lady, with tears of joy flowing down her cheeks, 
told me of her boy preacher. It seems that she 
and her husband had been nominal church mem- 
bers for years, during which time four children 
had blessed their home. Before the birth of her 
youngest son she attended a series of revival meet- 
ings and became thoroughly awakened in her 
spiritual life. She said: "I never was so happy 
Her Boy Would in all my life. It just seemed that the Holy 
Ghost had taken possession of me and I felt like 
shouting and praising the Lord all the time. My 
boy, born three weeks after the meetings closed, 
never was like his brothers; we always had to 
drive them to Sunday-school and Church, but 
we could not keep Sam away. He began to 
preach when he was seven years old, was licensed 
as an exhorter at seventeen, and I praise the Lord 
he is preaching yet!" 

Several pages might be filled with the recital 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 247 

of cases similar to the foregoing, the validity of 
which is unquestionable. The objections fre- 
quently urged against such cases are ( 1 ) that the 
sons of all devout mothers do not manifest these 

religious tendencies, and (2) that preachers' boys^"^ 1 " 8 . 50115 

& * 1 ■ ' » rrw ■ are Superior, 

are generally worse than other people s. This 

latter proposition is not true. It is true that many 

ministers' boys go astray, but careful comparison 

of the sons of ministers with the sons of business 

and professional men will show that the former 

are, as a class, much above the average in intellect 

and moral tendencies. 

In considering the first objection it is only 
necessary to bear in mind that maternal impres- 
sions are only one factor operative in the forma- 
tion of a soul, and therefore even the most devout, 
earnest Christian mother may not be able to over- 
come irreligious tendencies in her offspring aris- Opposing 
ing from other factors. She can modify them Factors * 
and in most cases, if earnest in spirit and wholly 
consecrated, she can greatly improve and control 
the moral and religious tendencies of her child. 

Doubtless the seeming exceptions to the relig- 
ious life of parents affecting in any very marked 
degree the moral tone of offspring is due to the 
sad fact, that many Christians and church mem- 
bers are but nominally so. They are contented 
with being good, honest people, going to church, christians, 
paying the preacher, looking a little after the 
sick, and living in accordance with the Discipline. 
All this, of course, is right and proper, but it is 
largely mechanical and exoteric. It springs mainly 
from the sense of duty, or from less worthy im- 
pulses, and does not necessarily prove that the 



248 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

Christ-life is animating and actuating their souls. 
Such a life may be conducive to morality in off- 
spring, but it will not endow them with strong 
religious tendencies. 

Many church members do not know what 
Christianity is. They may have an intellectual 

Christianity concept of it, but to know what Christianity is, 
Defined. r , ., TT ...... . * / _ ' 

one must possess it. He must feel the life of God 

in his soul as the all- pervading, all-controlling 
power of his being. Christianity is not conduct, 
although it should control conduct; it is a life, a 
vital force, conceived in man by the Holy Spirit. 
Parents who are truly Christians, whose lives 
are bubbling over with the spirit of devotion, and 
Love Will Beget whose hearts are full of Divine love, will, must, 
transmit this spirit to their offspring. 

Many who have been converted, and therefore 

know something of the realities of the higher life, 

allow their religious sentiments to lapse into a 

Passive Senti- negative, passive state, having, as they say, "made 

ments are not their peace with God," and ordered their lives 

with the teachings of the church, they settle down 

instead of settling up. They fall into a matter 

of fact, stereotyped way of living that requires 

very little activity of the moral sentiments. Such 

The Most Active persons, if judged by their conduct and church 

owers Control, testimony, must be classed with the devout and 

religious, but the passive state of their sentiments 

makes it impossible for them to transmit active, 

pronounced moral qualities to their offspring. 

Again, if they are actively engaged in business 

Worldly or pursuits that daily exercise other faculties and 

Children. propensities, the offspring will partake most 

largely of these active qualities and may thus be 



MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 249 

decidedly worldly, even though born of good, 
religious parents. 

To strengthen the moral and religious senti- 
ments of a child the prospective mother should Spiritual Growth 

.Requires 
earnestly exercise these powers. She should have Solitude. 

at least one hour a day of undisturbed solitude. 
This hour should be devoted to shaping the ideals, 
molding the character, and strengthening the spir- 
itual nature of her child. In the Silence she 
should have a definite purpose in view of just 
what qualities she desires to emphasize. She 
should put herself in the most restful, calm, peace- 
ful state possible; allowing the objective mind to 
become perfectly passive. While taking long, ™ erin 2 tIle 
deep breaths, she should strive to inbreathe the 
Holy Spirit. Let it be the one longing, earnest 
prayer, to be silently willed, over and over for 
five or ten minutes, that she be filled with the 
Holy Spirit. When conscious of the presence of 
the Spirit, as she will soon become after a few s . . , c 
times of earnest effort, she should affirm her one- munion. 
ness with God and willingness to obey His will. 
She should endeavor to feel the tender passion 
and loving kindness displayed on Golgotha's 
cross. As these holy emotions animate her soul, 
she should impress them by silent suggestion upon 
her child. When she has purified her own mind, 
by prayer and supplication, and her soul has be- 
come full of holy inspirations, she should silently, 
but earnestly and firmly, say to her child, "You « 
are honest." "You are pure." "You are holy." to Strengthen 
"You will be my noble man." "You must not, ft e J^? gio<,s 
you will not, you can not do wrong." "You are 
kind and loving." "You will always be good and 



250 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

thoughtful." "Your life belongs to God and His 
service." "You are, you will be, a blessing to 
us all." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 

Abnormal Impressions — Or, the law where- 
by an unusual, or abnormal psychical disturbance 
— such as sudden shock, fright, grief, anxiety, 
great excitement, intense longing, religious fer- 
vor, extreme joy, mental or hypnotic suggestion 
— during gestation may in very susceptible moth- 
ers produce physical or mental abnormalities in 
the offspring. 

In this chapter I desire to consider briefly : ( i ) 
the phenomena of birth-marks and abnormal im- 
pressions; (2) their causes and prevention, and 
(3) the limitation of such impressions as a perma- 
nent element in character. I shall also offer some 
suggestions in the line of experimental psychol- 
ogy, for the improvement of offspring and the 
more rapid evolution of the race. 

The fact that abnormal impressions result in 
physical or mental deformities is very generally 
admitted. Dr. Dabney, who has made an ex- 
tensive study of this subject, reports some 97 
well authenticated cases ; Prof. O. S. Fowler gives Birth Marks. 
2J cases, while Mr. C. J. Bayer, in his work on 
"Maternal Impressions," devotes several chapters 
to this subject. The medical records of the coun- 
try contain the accounts of hundreds of abnormali- 
ties resulting from maternal impressions. Thus 



252 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Physical 
Evidences. 



Birth Marks a 
Fact. 



Dr. Fearn's 
Opinions* 



the law as above stated seems beyond contradic- 
tion. 

Notwithstanding the unanimous testimony of 
all who have made personal observations, and the 
presence of thousands of physical and mental de- 
formities arising from abnormal impressions, 
there are still those high in authority who deny 
that birth-marks are the product of maternal im- 
pressions; also that it is possible for the mother 
to in any way influence her offspring during em- 
bryonic development. 

That birth-marks are rare is fortunately true. 
That they are seldom produced, except by ex- 
tremely susceptible mothers, is equally true, but 
that the mother's mentality does affect the off- 
spring and may occasionally produce deformities, 
is a fact that cannot be contradicted by any num- 
ber of theorists. 

The physical theory of heredity and evolution 
does not admit of sudden changes and altera- 
tions in the anatomy from purely psychic causes. 
Those who are still bound to this theory are loath 
to accept even the most unquestionable evidence. 
For instance, Dr. Fearn, in commenting upon a 
case in which a mother was said to have been 
greatly shocked by witnessing the removal of one 
of the bones (metacarpal) from her husband's 
hand, and afterward giving birth to a child with 
the corresponding bone missing, says : "If this 
report is true, our ideas of the formation and 
dissolution of parts of the skeleton must be mate- 
rially changed. We must believe either that the 
metacarpal bones are formed just before birth, 
after all the rest of the skeleton, or else that bones 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS, 253 

once formed may be absorbed under the influence 
of nervous shock or hysteria. Either view is non- 
sense." 

Dr. David Starr Jordan, in "Foot Notes to 
Evolution," on page 134, says: "In the currents T , , 
literature of hysterical ethics we find all sorts of Views. 
exhortations to mothers to do this and not do 
that, to cherish this and avoid that, on account 
of its supposed effects upon the coming progeny. 
Long lists of cases have been reported illustrating 
the law of prenatal influences. Most of these 
records serve only to induce skepticism. Many 
of these are mere coincidences, some are unveri- 
fiable, some grossly impossible, and some read 
like the certificates of patent medicine. There 
is an evident desire to make a case rather 
than to tell the truth. The whole matter 
is much in need of serious study, and 
the entire record of alleged facts must be 
set aside to make an honest beginning. Dr. 
Weissmann ridicules it all and believes that all ^eks^^ 
forms of mother's marks, prenatal influences 
and the like, are relics of mediaeval superstition. 
Other authorities of equal rank, as Henry Fair- 
field and Osborn, believe that these supposed in-Osbomand 
fluences exist and are occasionally made evident. aif 
Doubtless most of the current stories are products 
of self-deception or plain lying. Probably the 
period of gestation is too short for peculiar 
nervous states to produce far-reaching changes 
in hereditary endowments. On the other hand, Ridicule versus 
doubt and ridicule are not argument, and there gtimcnt# 
may be some reality in influences in which the 
world has so long believed ; but these phenomena, 



254 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



One Scientist's 
Opinion* 



Academic 
Nonsense* 



The True 
Scientist* 



if existing, belong to the realm of abnormal 
nerve action, or of altered nutrition; not to 
heredity." 

A distinguished scientist, who occupies the 
chair of Heredity in one of America's greatest 
Universities, recently delivered a lecture in Chi- 
cago on "The Physical Basis of Heredity." At 
the close of his lecture he invited questions, and 
was asked for an explanation of maternal im- 
pressions. The learned gentleman replied in sub- 
stance that he did not believe it possible for a 
mother in any way to affect the mentality of her 
child by her own mental states during gestation, 
there being no relation between them, save the 
relation of nutrition. The interrogator, not quite 
satisfied, then asked for an explanation of birth- 
marks, to which he replied : "Oh, I do not believe 
in such things. I think them purely a matter of 
witchcraft and superstition." 

"Witchcraft and superstition !" How long will 
intelligent men and women, with eyes to see and 
minds to think, be dominated by such academic 
nonsense, empiricism and learned stupidity! In 
the entire audience that listened to the discussion 
there was probably not an intelligent man or 
woman who was not in possession of facts which 
would contradict the professor and teach him a 
lesson that his books and theories had failed to 
teach. 

If a man is a true scientist, an honest truth- 
seeker, he loves truth better than all else. He will 
abandon his most cherished hypothesis in the pres- 
ence of facts that flatly contradict it. If the mate- 
rialistic theory of heredity will not admit of birth- 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 255 

marks and maternal impressions, in the presence 
of thousands of well authenticated cases, an hon- 
est man should admit the facts and "reform his 
creed." 

Perhaps about one person in two thousand has 
some physical or mental defect that is the result 
of an abnormal maternal impression. This being Abnormal 
true, the great stress placed upon birth-marks by Impressions. 
certain writers, urging mothers what to do and 
what not to do, is, to say the least, an exaggera- 
tion of this comparatively unimportant phase of- 
heredity. On the other hand, since they do occur, 
as often as indicated, it is hardly consistent for 
scientific men to flatly deny or to ridicule the 
whole subject. 

If I merely desired to prove that abnormal im- 
pressions do produce birth-marks, I might fill 
several chapters with the recital of well authenti- 
cated cases; but since it is my purpose to study 
their cause and prevention and establish a basis 
for experimental psychology, I shall simply give 
a few cases that have come under my personal 
observation. 

A Mrs. G was greatly frightened by a 

large savage dog springing at her as she started 
to enter a dark barn. In throwing her hands 
down to resist the animal, she struck her limb. 
Her babe, born some months thereafter, had the Frightened by 
form of the vicious animal's face on the thigh, a Dog * 
at the point where the mother's hand struck. The 
form of the dog's face is slightly raised and is 
covered with scattering canine hair, presenting 
the same general appearance as the vicious ani- 
mal. 



256 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



A Bean Mark* 



Goes on 
Tip-toe, 



Frightened by 
a Drunkard* 



A Clownish 
Child. 



The same mother, marked a son by an abnormal 
longing for beans. Seeing a huckster passing, 
she tried in vain to procure some of the beans. 
Returning to the house, she stepped to the mirror 
and adjusted her collar, touching her throat as she 
did so. Her boy, born a few months later, has 
two very perfect brown bean marks on his throat. 

A lady in Chicago, to avoid disturbing her hus- 
band (who was employed nights and slept during 
the day), went about her work all day on tiptoe. 
Her baby, carried under these conditions, al- 
though a strong and healthy child, did not walk 
until nearly two years old ; he would not put his 
foot flat down, but persisted in going on his tip 
toes. 

While lecturing at W , Oregon, I was 

called to see a child who was unable to walk or 
stand unless supported. It would roll on the floor 
and talk incoherently and in every way behave 
like one thoroughly intoxicated. Neither of the 
parents nor the grand parents were addicted to 
the use of liquor. The mother received a severe 
fright by seeing a drunken man wallow in a gut- 
ter some three months before the birth of her 
child. 

At D , Oregon, I examined a little boy who 

was decidedly clownish. The mother, a lady of 
extremely susceptible temperament, attended a 
circus during the seventh month of gestation and 
was very much amused by the ridiculous perform- 
ances of a clown, whose actions her child imitated 
from his earliest infancy. The little fellow, 
whether in school or out, at home or at church, 
greatly to the annoyance of his mother, was in- 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 257 

cessantly twisting his body, making comic faces 
and continually trying to make people laugh. 

I was acquainted with an irreligious family 
where there was one child who constituted a white 
sheep in a black flock. The mother during gesta- A Desirable 
tion was induced to attend a revival meeting and 
was thrown into a fervor of religious excitement. 
Her child, born some six weeks later, was quite 
unlike his elder brothers and sisters, showing a 
marked interest in sacred songs and in religious 
service. 

A short time previous to the birth of a neigh- 
bor's child the evangelist, Bittler, was holding 
meetings in St. Paul's Church, of Lincoln, Neb. 
The revival hymn, "The Lily of the Valley," was 
much used, so that the family were repeatedly Tk^r L jl y oi 
singing it at home. This simple hymn became 
the magic charm to the baby's soul. From his 
earliest infancy, even during the first month be- 
fore he was old enough to recognize words or 
songs, or to distinguish one person from another, 
the singing of this hymn would quiet him at once 
and put him to sleep like a hypnotic suggestion. 

I had at one time under advisement a lad whose 
use of profanity was intolerable, even the saloon 
men made complaint to his parents. His swear- 
ing was not acquired, but natural. He swore rfclUf 
from the time he could lisp. His mother told me p f0 fanity. 
that prior to his birth, while she had always been 
an earnest Christian woman, she had an insatiable 
desire to swear; that the most fiendish oaths 
seemed to bubble up for expression. She had no 
idea of the cause of this condition in herself, but 
the effects upon the child were painfully apparent. 



2 5 8 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



The Material- 
ist's Dilemma* 



Psychic Power 
Undeniable. 



Maternal 

Impressions 

Explained* 



The phenomena of maternal impressions, both 
normal and abnormal, are inexplicable on a purely 
physical basis. Were there no other relations be- 
tween mother and child than the anatomical, no 
such results as those just recited could possibly be 
produced. Scientific men know this, and there- 
fore those who are bound to the materialistic 
creed ridicule the whole subject. Their theory 
will not admit of birth-marks ; mental abnormali- 
ties they attribute to other causes than maternal 
impressions, and so in order to be consistent with 
their creed, they explain away mental deformities 
and deny the fact of birth-marks. 

It can safely be said that but very few up-to-date 
students hold to the physical theory of heredity. 
Man is now known to be more than "a physical 
machine." Psychical power is an undeniable fact. 
It has been demonstrated beyond the possibility 
of successful contradiction that one life may, 
under proper conditions, influence another inde- 
pendent of physical communication. Telepathy 
and clairvoyance are established phenomena, 
while hypnotic suggestion and the control of a 
patient, either through the senses or by silent 
willing, form a part of the daily practice of many 
physicians. These practical manifestations of the 
power of the psychic nature over the physical 
seemingly solve the problem of maternal impres- 
sions and birth-marks. 

The phenomena of normal and abnormal im- 
pressions are no mystery to the up-to-date psy- 
chologist. They are fully explained by the fol- 
lowing facts : ( I ) Man is a soul of which the 
body is the physical expression; (2) the soul is 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 259 

supreme, and thought-forms long persisted in, 
often repeated, or greatly intensified, take definite 
form in matter; (3) the established physical or- 
ganism represents the in-dwelling life, but is sub- 
ject to change as the life changes, and therefore Jr e SouI 
the physical organism is constantly being formed, Development. 
reformed, and may be deformed by the normal 
or abnormal manifestation of the in-dwelling life ; 
(4) the mother and child are in constant rapport 
with each other ; ( 5 ) when any two natures are 
thus psychologically connected, the suggestions, Between Mother 
thoughts, feelings, emotions and sensations in and Child, 
one are fully registered in the other; (6) the 
child's physical and mental organism is forming 
during the embryonic development, and therefore 
is susceptible to impression, so that both the nor- 
mal and abnormal states of the mother modify 
its life. 

Experiments in suggestive therapeutics and 
mental control indicate that the potency of a ^he Law of 
suggestion is largely determined by three general Suggestion. 
conditions: (1) The strength and defmiteness 
with which the suggestion is given; (2) the sus- 
ceptibility of the subject, and (3) the number of 
repetitions. 

The power to lodge a suggestion in the mind 

of another varies greatly; some persons are able 

to do so readily, others never succeed even with Lodgmg a 
r . , ,1 Suggestion. 

years of practice; much seems to depend upon 

the dynamic power of the mind and the clearness 

of the thought. The latter seems particularly 

essential. A thought to produce any marked 

effect upon another mind must be clear, definite 

and sharp. 



260 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Susceptibility to 

Impressions, 



Prenatal 
Individuality. 



Periods of 

Greatest 

Susceptibility* 



Only Repeated 

Suggestions 

Effectual. 



The susceptibility of persons to telepathic sug- 
gestions is as variable as life itself. Some are 
all but imperturbable, so fixed and established in 
character, or so completely controlled from within 
that all outside influences seem lost upon them. 
Others seem to have no definite character form; 
they correspond perfectly to their environments 
and are easily controlled by suggestions. 

Even during embryonic development there 
seems to be a vast difference in the strength and 
persistency of the individuality. In some, the 
fixed hereditary traits of the parents are so pro- 
nounced in the embryo that the little one seem- 
ingly refuses to respond to any transient states in 
the mother's mind, no matter how strong or ab- 
normal; it seems to develop after a fixed plan 
and will not respond to maternal impressions. 
Others seemingly respond to every maternal im- 
pression and are, therefore, molded in character 
by the mother's transient states. Again the de- 
gree of susceptibility is greatest just at the 
time when a function or faculty is forming ; there- 
fore, a mental emotion in the mother, that at one 
time might prove highly potential in forming, or 
deforming the nature, at another might not affect 
it in the least. 

It is doubtful if abnormalities, or any marked 
change, is ever brought about by a single sug- 
gestion from an abnormal emotion. The first 
impression made upon mother and child may be 
the result of a single instantaneous fright or 
shock, but it is the continued repetition of the 
image in the objective and subjective mind of 
the mother that causes it to take definite form 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 261 

in the mind or body of the child. Were it not 
repeated, or were it counteracted by an opposing 
impression or suggestion, its effect would be 
largely or entirely overcome. 

To prevent abnormalities I would suggest : ( 1 ) 
Ignore all thought of the possibility of producing 
them. They rarely occur, except where the mother AbnomiaSties* 
and foetus are both very susceptible and are sel- 
dom of such a character as to be a great mis- 
fortune. (2) The susceptible mother should cul- 
tivate a calm, self-possessed, constant, independ- 
ent nature, refusing to respond to any outside Self-control 
influence or condition, except those tending to EssentiaI » 
produce favorable results. By practice almost 
any one can so control her nature that no other 
person or ordinary external condition can influ- 
ence her. This may require much training on 
the part of some, but it is a condition that should 
be attained by all. 

Every soul should strive for absolute freedom. 
It should be subject to no one, but have the power 
to choose what it will or will not accept. To The Soul Should 
gain this freedom one should cultivate individual- fce# 
ity and learn to make definite decisions. Repeat- 
edly affirm, "I have absolute self-control." "I 
can say yes or no to every emotion, desire or feel- 
ing and compel its obedience to my will." "I am 
free from every undesirable influence." "Nothing 
shall or can disturb my mental harmony." (3) Yaithia 
She should place implicit faith in nature and na- Nature's God. 
ture's God that all will be well. Perfect trust in 
the Infinite Life as expressed in all nature, and 
the complete abandonment of all thought of weak- 
ness, or evil results, are the best preventatives of 



262 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Opposing Evil 
Influences. 



Prenatal 
Suggestions* 



abnormalities. (4) Where the mother has sus- 
tained any severe shock, fright, or grief, so that 
there is a possibility of bad results, she should 
ignore the fact as much as possible and proceed 
to counteract it by affirmations and suggestions 
of a directly opposite character. She should treat 
her forming child just as she would if the babe 
were in her arms. 

For instance, if a mother is holding her child 
and something occurs, suddenly frightening both 
mother and child, the mother quickly regains her 
self-control and at once begins to pacify the little 
one by assuring it that nothing can harm it, that 
there is no danger and that she will protect it. 
Now, while the child is not old enough to under- 
stand a single word, her mental suggestions 
quickly allay its fears. If a child can be thus 
controlled by suggestions before it is old enough 
to know one word from another, why will not the 
same treatment produce the same effect during 
its prenatal period? Experiments indicate that 
it will. The self-possessed mother can counteract 
a bad impression and with rare exceptions pre- 
vent it from affecting the child. 

The power of a suggestion, or an opposing sug- 
gestion to counteract any undesirable influence, 
or impression, is almost unlimited. By proper 
Lmpressions may sou i building a mother can gain such perfect self- 
control and so prefix her character as to enable 
her to resist all undesirable influences and largely 
determine the impressions made upon her form- 
ing child. 

The fact that sudden impressions do occasion- 
ally produce most wonderful results, and that it 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS, 263 

is possible for a mother to put herself where she 
may be subjected to conditions favorable to de- 
sirable impressions, has led some to look upon 
this as an unlimited means of endowing offspring 
with the elements of genius. The proposition is 
that since a susceptible mother may, at certain 
times, receive such impressions from listening to 
an eloquent oration or grand musical recital, and 
produce a marked effect upon her developing q^? to 
child and endow it with oratorical or musical 
talent, why not select the occasion and make the 
impression ? Why not expose the susceptible soul 
to the magnetic powers of eloquence or the vibra- 
tions of music, as one would a sensitive plate to 
the vibrations of light, and catch the image of 
eloquence and song? Why spend years in getting 
ready — in physical and mental preparation — and 
months in prenatal culture, when the desired re- 
sults may be produced at once? 

The answers to these propositions are : ( 1 ) 
Sudden impressions are rarely potential and sel- 
dom of a desirable character. A mother can s io ns Seldom"" 
not sit for an impression as she would for a photo- Effectual* 
graph ; if she attempts to force it, her own mental 
aggression will make the desired impression im- 
possible. (2) As previously indicated, mental 
and physical peculiarities resulting from sudden 
impressions are not produced in a moment, but 
are the result of repeated suggestions; therefore, 
the more frequently the mother is impressed, and Repeated 
the more vivid the impression, the greater will £^{^4^ 
be the effect upon her child. This brings us back 
to prenatal culture, and emphasizes the impor- 
tance of persistent training. (3) Even where 



264 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Abnormalties 
Outgrown, 



favorable results have been produced by sudden 
impressions, observation proves that the talents 
thus acquired are usually partly, or entirely out- 
grown in early life, and are seldom transmitted 
to succeeding generations. 

To illustrate the last proposition : A mother 
was terribly frightened by a drunken husband 
trying to kill her. The child born three months 
later, up to the age of ten, was subject to the 
most frightful dreams, would scream out in his 
sleep and almost go into spasms; was extremely 
timid and lived in constant fear of some one 
trying to kill him. At twenty he had quite out- 
grown the impression and had become normal. 

Mrs. S , of Seattle, during the sixth month of 

gestation, attended a splendid musical entertain- 
ment, and was, as she expressed it, "completely 
infatuated and carried away by the most excellent 
recital." Her daughter in early life displayed 
all but a mania for music, learned easily and gave 
great promise, but at the age of 14 the abnormal 
passion for music began to decline, and later ex- 
perience demonstrated that her actual talent for 
music was but a trifle better than that of her 
parents or elder sister. 

Many similar illustrations might be given, but 
these are sufficient to explain the proposition. It 
Nature Main- a j so j n( jj ca tes the ever manifest tendency of na- 
ture to maintain the normal. The fixed factors 
of heredity do not readily yield to acquired char- 
acters; were it otherwise, acquired abnormalities 
would destroy all established types. 

Advocates of the new psychology assure us 
that we are soon to have a revolution in our 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 265 

methods of education, brain building and soul 

development. It has been demonstrated that one 

person can so lodge a suggestion in the mind of Experimental 

another as to greatly accentuate or stimulate any 

given power. This seemingly affords an almost 

unlimited means of cultivating the mind and 

molding the character of the young. Some of the 

more sanguine advocates of the suggestive 

method assure us that any element of mind can 

be greatly strengthened by a few treatments. 

With this proposition, however, I am not fully 

agreed. The normal increase in the power of the N orma j Growth 

objective or conscious mind cannot exceed the Requires Time. 

brain development ; and brain areas and nerve 

tracks are not built up by a few mental or hypnotic 

suggestions. 

It is true, that persons under psychological 
treatment do frequently manifest extraordinary 
mental power, but all such manifestations are 
abnormal, the result of stimulation, and are usu- R - , 
ally followed by more or less reaction. Mr. Wm. Hypnotic Con- 
A. Barnes, a specialist of Boston, tells of the** ** 
case of a child who was so poor in mathematics 
"that he generally had nine problems out of ten 
wrong. After the second treatment of a few 
minutes, the boy improved so he was able to get 
nine out of ten right." 

If this statement is true, it merely proves the Mental Stimu- 
possibility of hypnotic stimulation. Mr. Barnes lation, 
does not tell us that his subject continued to be 
an expert mathematician, for he knows very well 
that the extraordinary power was abnormal and 
would therefore largely disappear when the mind 
returned to its normal state. 



266 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



Silent Suggestion. 



Control During 

Sleep, 



Hypnotism 
Practically 
Applied* 



Dangers in 
Hypnotism* 



The point of special interest to us in this im- 
mediate connection is, that it is possible for one 
person to stimulate the brain areas in another 
person through silent suggestion. This fact is 
now very generally admitted and widely practiced 
by psychologists. It is also known that successful 
mental treatment can be given while the patient 
is either in a hypnotic or natural sleep. 

Experimenters tell us that persons having a 
very active temperament are more amenable to 
control during sleep than when awake, and that 
suggestions lodged in the mind of a sleeping sub- 
ject remain and become influential or controlling 
factors in future conduct. 

This last proposition has been repeatedly dem- 
onstrated. I saw Prof. Tyndall, at Los Angeles, 
hypnotize a young man and lodge in his mind the 
suggestion that a certain sum of money had been 
placed in one of the banks to his credit, and that 
the following morning he would go to the bank 
at 9 o'clock and demand the deposit. The fol- 
lowing morning at the appointed time the in- 
credulous crowd was surprised to see the young 
man making straight for the bank with the full 
assurance in his face that a handsome sum of 
money awaited him. At Detroit a physician re- 
cently controlled an erring girl by hypnotic sug- 
gestion so that she abandoned her life of shame 
and returned to her home a reformed woman. 

An amateur hypnotist, at Albany, N. Y., lodged 
a suggestion in the mind of a pupil to the effect 
that she could not recall her name. The young 
lady after a few vain efforts became frightened, 
ran to her mother, who spoke her name, but still 



ABNORMAL IMPRESSIONS. 267 

she could not remember it. The amateur tried in 
vain to dislodge his suggestion ; several successful 
hypnotists were brought, but none could remove 
it. The young lady grieved so over the loss of 
her name that she became demented and is now 
in an insane asylum. Other illustrations might 
be given, but these are sufficient to indicate the 
potency of a suggestion for good or evil. 

The foetus is said to be amenable to mental 
suggestion and hypnotic control. Practical hyp- ^Py **^ ?";" 
notists affirm that the character of a child can be 
greatly modified by hypnotic suggestions lodged 
in the mother's mind during the last half of the 
period of gestation. A perfectly reliable gentle- 
man, a hypnotist, told me that he was able to 
control his unborn child as easily as he could the 
other members of his family. He was first led ^ Father's 
to make the experiment because of the infant's Experiment, 
extreme activity greatly disturbing the mother, 
who was in delicate health. He found that by 
placing his hand over the child and silently will- 
ing it to be quiet, or as he said, "talking to it," it 
would soon stop its restlessness and seemingly go 
to sleep. He gave it certain suggestions in the 
line of the artistic and love of the beautiful, which 
proved to be very strong natural traits in the 
child's character. 

Other reliable cases have come to my notice 
indicating clearly that a child is amenable to Resemblance to 
control and subject to suggestions by persons tIie Unrelated, 
other than its mother for some time prior to its 
birth. The fact of many children strongly re- 
sembling some pronounced character with whom 
the mother has associated during gestation doubt- 



268 PRENATAL CULTURE. 

less has its explanation in the susceptibility of the 
foetus to suggestion. 

The susceptibility of the foetus to a sugges- 
tion is demonstrated by every change that has 
ever been wrought by maternal impressions. If 
the psychologist can stimulate the mental power 

wi^i^h^i * an< ^ ky repeated treatment gradually develop the 
areas of his subject's brain, why cannot a mother, 
by the intelligent application of this same law, 
stimulate and control the forming brain of her 
offspring and thereby modify its character at 
will? If brain areas can be affected by repeated 
suggestions in the matured subject, how much 
more potential must be a suggestion on a brain 
that is just forming? To my mind this is the 
most promising field for experimental psychology. 
It seemingly affords an unlimited means for im- 
proving offspring. 

As God in His infinite wisdom saw fit to use 

Science? PC ° woman to bear His son and give Him to the 
world to save men, so science will yet employ a 
consecrated motherhood to give to the race the 
elements of genius, the principles of virtue, and 
the basis of a noble character. 



Paet III. 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

HEREDITY, INSANITY AND IMBECILITY. 

In Parts I and II we have studied the science 
of heredity and the operation of its laws in the 
production of the normal man. In this and suc- 
ceeding chapters we shall consider heredity in its 
relation to the abnormal man. We shall notice 
especially the prenatal influences of the several 
great social evils, such as intemperance, commer- 
cialism, etc., and the part they play in heredity. 

The rapid increase in the dependent and delin- 
quent classes in both Europe and America pre- 
sents one of the most formidable problems of 
the twentieth century. Despite the combined in- Increase of 
fluences of law, education and religion, the feeble- egenera **• 
minded, the insane and the criminal classes are 
gaining in civilized countries at an almost in- 
credible rate. 

In France crime nas more than trebled in the 
last quarter of a century; the same may be said em urope * 
of Italy, while Russia is not far behind. The 
increase in crime in Germany is a little less than 



270 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Crime in the 
United States. 



A Grave 
Problem. 



Education and 
Crime* 



in the other countries named, while England has 
the lowest rate of increase of any civilized coun- 
try, Sweden coming next. 

In the United States, according to Mr. Round, 
U. S. Statistician, in 1850 the number of crim- 
inals to each one million of the population was 
290; in i860, it was 607; in 1870, 853; in 1880, 
1,169; m 1890, 1,315. Thus it will be seen that 
crime in this country more than quadrupled in 
the forty years prior to 1890, or increased over 
480 per cent, while the increase from 1890 to 
1900 has been fully as fast as in any previous 
decade. 

Statistics of the feeble-minded and insane are 
as appalling as those of crime. Legislators, edu- 
cators and reformers may well pause at the 
threshold of the twentieth century long enough 
to ask themselves the questions: "Whence and 
whither are we drifting? Why are these things 
so? How shall we stop the increase of the ab- 
normal man? How shall we stay the rising tide 
of insanity, vice and crime that threatens to sub- 
merge our Christian civilization? How shall we 
instill the elements of health and principles of 
virtue, honor and charity into the physical, men- 
tal and moral nature of the man of today and 
the generation of tomorrow ? 

Postnatal education and religion unaided by 
proper prenatal influences will not solve these 
great problems. In Spain the proportion of 
illiteracy to the population is 65 per cent, but the 
remaining 35 per cent commit one-half of the 
crimes of the country. 

Warden A. A. Brush, of Sing Sing, New York, 



INSANITY AND IMBECILITY, 271 

in his report before the National Prison Associa- 
tion, said : "One thousand two hundred and 
forty-eight of our inmates had a common-school 
education, 13 had an academic education, 6 a Religious 
collegiate education, leaving only 120 uneducated Training. 
out of 1,383 now in Sing Sing. * * * Of the 
865 received during the last fiscal year, 766 had 
attended Sunday-schools when boys, 862 were 
brought up at home, and 3 by strangers. Of the 
1,368 convicts in the Auburn State Prison, New 
York, 1,182 were liberally educated. 

Statistics from the Inebriate House of Fort 
Hamilton show that out of 600 inmates only 59 p^on Reports. 
were uneducated, 88 had received a rudimentary 
training, 341 enjoyed a common school educa- 
tion, while 112 were college bred — thus 453, or 
three-quarters, were liberally educated. In Eng- 
land about 10 per cent of the convicts are illiter- 
ate, one-sixth are college bred, and 50 per cent 
have a common school education. 

From the foregoing statistics — and they are 
much in accord with my own observations and Percentage of 
the reports from other prisons and reformatories "^ tetac Y* 
— it will be seen that the percentage of illiteracy 
among criminals is only a trifle below that of the 
normal population. The same may be said in 
regard to religious training, all of which tends Heredity and 
to show that the intellectual and ethical training Postnatal 
that comes to the average man is not sufficient to 
prevent his lapse into crime — in his present en- 
vironments — if dominated by a bad inheritance. 

In making this statement I do not wish to be 
understood as questioning the advantages of edu- 
cation, ethical training or religious influences; I 



2J2 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



A Tangled 
Skein, 



Number of 
Idiotic and 
Epileptic. 



simply desire to emphasize the fact that these 
forces, as applied, have proved insufficient to 
counteract evil inborn tendencies. 

In considering the influence of the great social 
evils upon the heredity of offspring I shall pur- 
posely avoid the needless recital of statistics, giv- 
ing only such as are necessary to indicate the 
potency of bad prenatal conditions in the produc- 
tion of the dependent and delinquent classes. It 
is difficult to estimate the actual or relative influ- 
ence of any special one of the great social evils. 
They are all so interwoven and interdependent 
that no one can be separated from the others and 
studied as an isolated factor ; moreover, each is a 
cause and in turn becomes an effect; therefore, 
the best we can do is to attribute to each only 
such influences as are warranted by a conserva- 
tive estimate of results. 

In this chapter we shall notice the relation of 
heredity to imbecility and insanity, and more par- 
ticularly the effects of narcotics and poisonous 
drugs used by mothers during gestation. It is 
estimated that there are at present no less than 
150,000 feeble-minded persons in the United 
States (over 100,000 of these are under school 
age) ; also about the same number of epileptics, 
or 30cr,ooo in all. Comparative statistics indicate 
that these unfortunate classes are rapidly on the 
increase in proportion to the population. Only 
10 per cent of these dependents are found in the 
state institutions; the rest are cared for at home 
or in private hospitals, and are usually given as 
little publicity as possible. Many parents are 



INSANITY AND IMBECILITY, 273 

aware of the cause of the abnormality and are not 
particularly anxious to advertise it. 

Morbid heredity seems to be responsible for 
about 38 per cent of these dependents. Estimat- 
ing that there are 300,000 epileptic and feeble- 
minded persons in our population of 69,000,000, 
there would be one such person to every 230 of 
the entire population; while statistics indicate 
that where feeble-mindedness exists in families 
as a hereditary condition, 46 per cent of the off- S ef cf ^^T^ 
spring are affected. Therefore, 10,000 persons ncS s. 
made up of families taken from the normal popu- 
lation produce only 44 feeble-minded offspring; 
while in a population of 10,000 made up of fami- 
lies in which one or both parents are feeble- 
minded, we should expect to find 4,600 defective 
offspring. 

Mr. Ernest Bicknell, Secretary of the Indiana 
Board of State Charities, in his article on "Feeble- 
Mindedness as an Inheritance," read before the 
National Conference of Charities in '98, said : 
"We have made a careful study of the histories 
of 248 families. The whole number of persons 
composing these 248 families was 887. Of the 
395 males, 222, or 69 per cent, were feeble- 
minded. Of the 887 persons therefore, 562, or statistics of the 
63.2 per cent, were mentally defective. In 10 1 Feeble-Minded. 
of the 248 families under consideration have been 
found a history of feeble-mindedeness in two gen- 
erations; 12 families, with 77 members, had 
feeble-mindedness in three generations ; while two 
families showed 4, and one 5 generations of this 
defect. Of the 447 persons in the 101 families 
in which mental deficiency was known to have 



274 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

descended from parents to children, 359, or 80 
per cent, were found to be feeble-minded. In 
the remaining 147 families, in which feeble-mind- 
edness has been found in but one generation, there 
were 440 persons, of whom 203, or 46.1 per cent, 
were feeble-minded." Thus it will be seen that 
where feeble-mindedness descends from parents 
to children for more than one generation 80 per 
cent of the offspring are affected; while in the 
case of feeble-mindedness descending through but 
one generation 46.1 per cent are affected. 

According to the figures of Mr. Bicknell, mor- 
bid heredity is responsible for 63 per cent of the 
Morbid Heredity, feeble-minded. This estimate, however, is based 
upon the study of families in which feeble-mind- 
edness is known to exist as a hereditary taint, and 
therefore must not be taken as a basis of reckon- 
ing for the whole population. Out of 10,000 
feeble-minded persons not over 3,800, or about 
38 per cent, are born from feeble-minded parents ; 
the other 62 per cent are the product of other 
causes. 

My own observations and the careful compari- 
son of the most reliable statistics obtainable indi- 

„ , „ t4 cate that about QS per cent of the feeble-minded 

Causes of Feeble- . . 

Mindedness. * and the epileptic subjects of the country are the 

product of hereditary taint, hereditary alcohol- 
ism or prenatal influences. The principal pre- 
natal influences are severe frights, worry, grief, 
narcotics and the use of abortive drugs. Of these 
several causes the last named is by far the great- 
est. 

Only about 2.5 per cent of the epileptics and 
feeble-minded are the product of fright, grief, 



INSANITY AND IMBECILITY. 275 

« 
etc., while fully 22.5 per cent are caused by the 

use of alcohol, opium, morphine, laudanum, and 

other narcotics. Wherever wreck and ruin are Narcotics and 

reeble- 
being wrought, King Alcohol does his full share. Mindedness. 

Just what part of this 22.5 per cent is caused by 
the use of narcotics by prospective mothers has 
not been very accurately determined, but perhaps 
fully one-third. A much larger number of fath-gSS** 
ers use liquor than mothers, but its use by the 
mother during embryonic development seems 
especially productive of these abnormal condi- 
tions. Doubtless fully 50 per cent of the feeble- 
mindedness that has descended as a hereditary 
taint, and was therefore included as a hereditary 
cause, was primarily the result of alcoholism. 

The greatest immediate cause of epilepsy and 
feeble-mindedness, particularly the former, is the Abortive Drugs 
use of poisonous drugs for the prevention of con- an< * Epilepsy, 
ception and in the production of abortion. It is 
estimated that no less than 32 per cent of the 
300,000 epileptic and idiotic persons in the United 
States have been so caused. This means that 
96,000 of these unfortunates have been produced^^^^^J^' 
by willful violation of nature's laws. What an 
appalling crime to be perpetrated in the midst of 
culture and religious influences! What an abuse 
of the science of medicine! What a legacy for 
succeeding generations ! 

The 96,000 epileptic and feeble-minded chil- 
dren that are the direct product of this fiendish 
practice represent but a very small fraction of Crime. ^^ 
its evil effects. Hundreds of thousands have been 
stillborn from this cause, or born weaklings, only 
to eke out a miserable existence or fill a prema- 



2j6 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



The Final 
Remedy* 



Insanity* 



Increase of 
Insanity. 



ture grave. If the cities of the dead could speak, 
if crying infants could tell of their prenatal strug- 
gles against poisons, what a revelation they would 
make ! If the shamefully common practice of this 
heinous crime were made public it would shock 
the sensibilities of the most calloused and awaken 
pity in the heart of the most hardened criminal ! 

When the state will prohibit the marriage of 
the idiotic and feeble-minded, when prospective 
parents will abstain from the use of narcotics; 
when physicians will stop prescribing poisonous 
drugs to ladies during gestation; when people 
cease preventing conception and attempting to 
produce abortion by the use of drugs ; then, and 
not until then, will it be possible to stop the pro- 
duction of the epileptic and idiotic classes. 

Insanity had its origin among the nobility. In 
ancient times it was rarely known among the 
common people ; while among the royal families it 
was, as it is today, frequent. As a hereditary 
taint it is the most ineradicable. Many writers 
hold that when the insane taint becomes estab- 
lished in the blood it is transmitted from genera- 
tion to generation until the family becomes utterly 
degenerate or extinct. 

Within the last quarter of a century insanity, 
like epilepsy and feeble-mindedness, has increased 
at an alarming rate. It has more than trebled 
in most of the European countries and almost 
quadrupled in the United States. Statistics indi- 
cate that there were about 41,000 insane persons 
in the States in 1880. This would mean about 
one to every 1,200 of the population; while in 
1900 there are over 150,000, or one to about every 
460. 



INSANITY AND IMBECILITY. 277 

Of the many causes of insanity, alcoholism is 
perhaps the greatest, while morbid heredity ranks 
next. Insanity is largely the result of degen- P" cf Causes of 
eracy. Most persons who become mentally de- 
ranged are the offspring of neurotic, drunken, 
insane, feeble-minded, scrofulitic or consumptive 
parents. According to the statistics furnished 
by the Eleventh Federal Census in 10,000 persons 
from the normal population there are 20 insane, 
8 blind and 6 deaf ; while in a population of insanity. 
10,000 composed of families in which there is a 
trace of insanity there are 300 insane persons, 80 
blind and 170 deaf. From this it will be seen 
that while in the entire population the insane 
represent only two-tenths of 1 per cent; in a popu- 
lation composed of families where there is a trace 
of insanity, 3 per cent are insane. 

According to Lombroso, insanity is often com- 
pletely transmitted, and even appears with greater 
intensity in succeeding generations. Cases of 
hereditary insanity in children and grand-children LombfOSO * 
in which the form of insanity is the same as in 
their ancestors are very numerous. All the de- 
scendants of a Hamburg nobleman, whom history 
registers as a great soldier, were struck with in- 
sanity at the age of 40. At the Connecticut Asy- 
lum 1 1 members of the same family have arrived 
in succession. 

Criminal insanity is one of the most common 
of morbid conditions. In New York State one- 
sixth of all the murderers are found to be insane ; Criminal 
in England one-third. According to statistics, "^ 
insanity in England is 28 times more prevalent 
among the prison population than in the general 



2?8 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Df . Guy's 
Conclusions, 



Alcohol and 
Insanity* 



community. Dr. Wm. A. Guy, F. R. S., says: 
"The ratio of the insane to the sane criminals is 
thirty-four times as great as the ratio of lunatics 
to the whole population; or, if we take half the 
population to represent the adults, which supply 
the convict prisons, we shall have the criminal 
lunatic in excess in the high proportion of 17 
to 1." 

Probably 70 per cent of all the insanity of the 
earth has been caused directly or indirectly by the 
use of narcotics. Most of what is now called 
"hereditary insanity" had its origin in alcoholism 
in preceding generations. Again, much of the 
insanity that must be attributed directly to anxi- 
ety, worry, mental overstrain and precocity, etc., 
is indirectly caused by the use of alcohol. Finally, 
thousands who cannot be classed among the hered- 
itary insane receive their insane tendencies 
through prenatal influences. Habitual alcohol- 
ism in the parents, even where it does not pro- 
duce any greater abnormality in them than occa- 
sional intoxication, frequently results in the pro- 
duction of idiotic, neurotic or insane offspring. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



HEREDITY, HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 



In this chapter I desire to show the relation 
bad heredity and prenatal influences bear to 
crime; to point out some of the causes of the 
rapid increase of high crime in America; and to 
emphasize the fact that moral and even religious 
parents, who practice criminal abortion, often 
produce offspring that manifest pronounced hom- 
icidal or suicidal tendencies. 

Of the rapid increase in crime I have already 
made mention in a former chapter. According 
to the most reliable statistics obtainable, there The Increase of 
was in 1850 in the United States one criminal Crime, 
among every 3,400 persons, while in 1900 there 
was one criminal for every 560 persons. Sander- 
son Christison, M. D., in his recent publication, 
"Crime and Criminals," says : "Crimes are now 
nearly five times as numerous as forty years ago." 
The reports of the state prisons show one-third 
more convictions for high crime in proportion to 
the population than there were twenty years ago. 

According to the report of the Board of City 
Magistrates of New York City of 1897, the popu- 
lation of the city had increased 33 1-3 per cent YorikGt N * W 
in the last ten years, while crime had increased 
over 50 per cent. Nine magistrates tried 1 12,160 
cases and held 73,537 defendants. 



280 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Crime in the 
United States* 



Frequency of 
Suicide* 



Foreign 
Criminals* 



Comparative statistics indicate that the United 
States has the highest murder rate of any civil- 
ized country; its criminal records show 43,902 
homicides between 1890 and 1896 ; of these 10,500 
were committed in 1895; this indicates an aver- 
age in 1895 °f &75 P er month or over 28 per day. 
In 1890 there were 4,390 cases of homicide, while 
in 1895 there were 10,500; an increase of 6,933, 
or a little over 160 per cent. 

Suicide has just about kept pace with homicide, 
increasing from something like 3,300 cases in 
1890, to 7,190 in 1895 ; this means that an aver- 
age of over 22 persons per day committed sui- 
cide in the United States in 1895. Fortunately 
there has been a slight decline in high crime dur- 
ing the last five years, yet it is an appalling fact 
that the United States begins the twentieth cen- 
tury with a suicide every seventy minutes and a 
murder every hour. 

In comparing the criminal records of the Unit- 
ed States with those of other countries, the for- 
eign criminal must always be taken into account. 
Thousands of convicts from the old world make 
their way to "free America," hoping thereby to 
escape justice. It is estimated that our 15 per 
cent of foreign born population commit 51 per 
cent of our crime. Since the introduction of the 
parole system in Europe, it is said that 80 per 
cent of the prisoners so released ship to foreign 
ports; of whom 55 per cent come to the United 
States. Again, the saloon business being largely 
in the hands of foreigners, the saloon becomes 
the habitual resort of the foreign criminal where 
his vicious tendencies are greatly augmented. 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 281 

Most authorities consider chronic alcoholism as 
the chief cause of crime; others, however, place 
heredity first. Judge J. C. Parker, who has 
doubtless sent more men to the gallows than any- 
other judge in America, says : "Three-fourths 
of the homicides committed are attributable di- Alcohol versus 
rectly, or indirectly, to the use of liquor." Many Here <*ity. 
pages of like quotations might easily be compiled 
from other eminent authorities. Such state- 
ments, however, are in a sense misleading, for of 
a large per cent of the cases attributable directly 
to alcoholism, bad heredity was the primary cause. 

Mr. Strahan, who has given much attention 
to the study of suicide and insanity, says : "We 
know, as a fact, that there is no abnormal con- 
stitutional state more commonly transmitted from 
parent to child than this tendency to self destruc- Hereditary 
tion, and the major part of the annual increase Suicidal 
of suicide, as well as other degenerate conditions, 
is due directly to propagation. In support of 
this assertion I would call attention to the fact 
that while the general death rate of England 
and Wales has fallen 16.4 per cent during the 
past quarter of a century, a rise in some cases 
of over 100 per cent has taken place in the 
death rates from hereditary and degenerate dis- 
eases." 

Among many cases given by Mr. Strahan to 
substantiate this proposition he tells of an under- Oxford Student* 
graduate of Oxford who shot himself while in 
his room. A fellow student who was with him 
up to 12 o'clock on the night of which he killed 
himself saw nothing strange in his manner. In 
a letter addressed to his father he said : "The 



282 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



A Family 
Mania* 



reason of my committing this act may perhaps 
seem incomprehensible, but I suppose it is chiefly 
that my morbid desire for death from my child- 
hood has grown too strong for me. It may be 
madness, but I fear not." 

Griesinger, one of the greatest of German 
alienists, says : "Experience has shown that the 
inclination to suicide, which often comes on in 
all members of a family at the same age, com- 
municates itself by hereditary descent." Bur- 
rows, among many cases, gives the following: 
"A man hanged himself. He left four sons. Of 
these one hanged himself, one cut his throat, one 
drowned himself and one died a natural death. 
Two of these sons had families; of one family 
two became insane and another made several at- 
tempts to take his life. Of the other, two mem- 
bers drowned themselves, though never suspect- 
ed of insanity." 

Esquirol tells of a family in which the grand- 
mother, mother, daughter and grandson all com- 
mitted suicide. McCulloch in studying the fam- 
ily of Ben Ishmael, discovered and identified 
1,750 descendants living in Kentucky in 1790, 
who had been criminals and paupers, among 
whom were 121 prostitutes. In six generations 
75 per cent of the cases treated in the city hos- 
pitals of Indianapolis were of this man's off- 
spring. 

Prof. Pelman, of Bonn University, has discov- 
ered and identified 709 descendants of Frau Ada 
FrauAdaJurke. Jurke, a notorious drunkard who was born in 
1740 and died in 1800. Of these 7 had been 
convicted of murder, 76 of other crimes, 144 were 



The Ishmael 
Family. 



Ascendents of 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 283 

professional beggars, 61 lived on charity and 181 
were prostitutes. This family has cost the Ger- 
man government over $1,200,000. 

Mr. Dugdale, who was a member of the exec- 
utive committee of the Prison Association of 
New York, and a most painstaking student of the 
cause of criminals, found in a study of 223 con- 
victs that 23.03 per cent came from neurotic 
stock, 75.63 per cent were habitual criminals, 
17.16 per cent came from criminal families, 22.31 criminal" 1 
per cent from pauper stock, 42.49 per cent from Heredity. 
intemperate families, and that 39.05 per cent were 
habitual drunkards. In the crimes committed 
upon persons (murder, rape, etc.), 40.47 per cent 
were of neurotic stock, 59.52 per cent were ha- 
bitual criminals, 19.04 per cent were from crim- 
inal families, 38.08 per cent were from intemper- 
ate families, and 40.47 per cent were habitual 
drunkards. Of the habitual criminals 14.20 
per cent came from neurotic stock, 18.75 
per cent from criminal parents, 45.45 per cent 
from intemperate families, while 42.61 per cent 
were habitual drunkards. 

Dr. Daniel R. Brower in a recent lecture in 
Chicago, said : "There are two classes of crim- 
inals, the habitual or hereditary criminal, and p cent of 
the occasional. Of the entire criminal class 80 Hereditary 
per cent are habitual malefactors. * * * j n Criminals. 
Germany one man had 804 descendants, nearly 
all of whom were criminals, many of them mur- 
derers, thieves and pickpockets. " 

In considering the causes of a criminal it is 
impossible to determine the relative influence of 
the several factors that have entered into his com- 



284 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

position and directed his conduct. Bad heredity, 

bad whiskey and bad environment vie with one 

The Principal another for the trophy of crime. Seldom does 
Causes ot Crime. 1 ,,.-..,'.- - 

a man become a habitual criminal without the 

conjoined influence of the three. In thousands 

of cases in which liquor or evil associates is the 

immediate cause, bad heredity is primary. 

Criminal tendencies in a man are quickly awak- 
ened and greatly augmented by evil associations 
and the use of narcotics. Even where the crim- 
inal instincts are very strong by inheritance, if 
The Well-born a man lives a temperate life and is removed from 
Crime? ommi all bad associations, neither he nor his most in- 
timate friends may ever suspect his criminal tend- 
encies; but let him begin drinking and associate 
with vicious characters and his inborn criminal 
instincts will soon be expressed in conduct. If 
he commit crime, the natural inference is (since 
he has always been a law abiding citizen up to 
the time he began drinking) that liquor was the 
supreme cause while, in reality, it was only the 
stimulator of his latent criminal tendencies. 

The more I study the criminal — and I have 
looked up the family record and prenatal influ- 
ences of many — the more I am inclined to the 
opinion that the well-born person rarely, if ever, 
lapses into high crime. 

Occasionally well-born persons under the in- 

The Occasional fluence of liquor, excitement, or hypnotic sug- 
CriminaL « . * • « 1 

gestion commit crime, but they quickly repent, 

are horrified at the thought of their mistake and 

some would prefer death to repeating it, thereby 

showing that they are vastly different from the 

hereditary or habitual criminal who delights in 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 285 

crime, rejoices at the thought of repeating it, and 
expresses no feeling of remorse. 

Hereditary criminals form a class peculiar to 
themselves. They are much influenced by en- 
vironments, and are greatly brutalized by the use J^ c Hereditary 
of liquor; but crime is as natural to them as 
the most desirable gifts are to other men. 
Dr. Thompson, in speaking of this class, says: 
"The habitual criminals are without moral sense. 
They are true moral imbeciles, in the presence 
of temptation; they have no self-control against 
criminal acts. Out of five hundred murderers 
that I have known, only three of them ever ex- 
perienced any remorse." Lombroso says: 
"Many criminals have told me that there were 
times when they could not restrain themselves." 

An insatiable longing or inborn desire to steal, 
or to torture something is not uncommon among 
natural born criminals. That this is not the re- 
sult of alcoholism or bad environments is proved 
by the fact that it is often strongest in the young q§^^J e 
child that has not been exposed to any of these 
causes. The reform schools now contain several 
thousand such children; hundreds of them were 
born on a farm, or in places where they were far 
removed from any exciting cause. 

The number of persons born with homicidal 
or suicidal tendencies is increasing much more 
rapidly than is the normal population ; this is no Increase of 
doubt in part due to the increased consumption Criminals, 
of alcohol and the unrestricted multiplication of 
criminal families; but it is more largely due to 
bad prenatal influences. The morbid conditions 
cf the prospective mothers, gloomy forebodings, 



286 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

intense anger, attempted abortion or the crim- 
inal desire to destroy the unwelcome child, in 
short vicious maternal impressions, are the chief 
causes of children being born with homicidal and 
suicidal tendencies. 

Fully 40 per cent of our hereditary criminals 

are born from parents in whom there was neither 

Bad Maternal chronic alcoholism nor previous morbid hered- 

pressions. -^ j n ^^ Qne o ^ ^ strongest points urged 

against the doctrine of heredity, by those unac- 
quainted with its laws, is that many of the most 
vicious children are born of good, moral parents. 
The law of maternal impressions explains why 
this is so. There are thousands of cases in which 
the mother wished she were dead, or attempted 
the destruction of the unwelcome child with the 
result that the child early manifested homicidal 
or suicidal tendencies. 

A well known historical case is that of Car- 
don, the criminal, whose mother was irascible 
when pregnant with him and attempted to abort. 
His criminal tendencies, resulting from this pre- 
natal influence, were transmitted to the next 
generation; his two sons were criminals, one of 
great ability being condemned to death for pois- 
oning, the other giving his life over to gaming, 
drinking, thieving, etc. 

Another well known case is that of a Chicago 
family. Two children born while the parents 
were living in harmony were normal, well be- 
to Crimed B ° m ^ avec ^ an( * grew up to be respectable men. After 
their birth a family quarrel turned the mother's 
love into hate so that she bitterly protested 
against maternity. When it was forced upon her 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 287 

she almost raved with anger, threatened the hus- 
band's life, drove him from the house with a 
butcher knife, and did her best to destroy the 
unwelcome child, but was unsuccessful. 

Four years later she bore another child under 
similar conditions. Both of these children were 
vicious and criminally inclined from birth. The 
first died at the end of a rope in the hands of a 
mob on Haymarket Square, Chicago, for mur- 
der, the other was sentenced to state's prison for 
life. 

Anyone who doubts the possibility of a moth- 
er's criminal attempts to destroy the foetus af- 
fecting the character of the child, needs but to tions Produce 
investigate to be convinced. To be sure, atavism, Criminals, 
or an unfavorable combination, may produce a 
morbid tendency in offspring even where there 
are no bad maternal impressions, but criminal 
tendencies arising from these sources where both 
parents are normal, moral and temperate are com- 
paratively rare. I have had under my personal 
observation a great number of children born from 
good parents who were melancholy or vicious 
from birth. In every instance a true history of f Vicious SOfy 
the period of gestation has revealed a morbid Children, 
condition of the mother's mind and indicated that 
the child's vicious tendencies were largely, or 
wholly, due to bad maternal impressions. A few 
of these cases, every one of which I know to 
be substantially as here given, will serve to em- 
phasize the facts in question and to indicate the 
potency of morbid impressions. 

Mrs. Young, of A — , Ind., was very much dis- 
turbed during gestation, cried most of the time, 



288 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Suicidal Tend- 
encies in a 
Child. 



A Would-Be 
Parricide* 



continually wished that she were dead and out 
of the way and used various drugs to destroy 
the embryo. Her daughter, born under these con- 
ditions cried and whined incessantly when a child, 
was seldom happy and would frequently say, "I 
wish I were dead !" Even when in her teens, no 
matter how kind or courteous her young friends 
were to her, she always felt that she was not 
welcome. At the age of twenty she told me that 
the impulse to commit suicide at certain times be- 
came almost irrisistible ; that she had a constant 
desire to die and could not help feeling that her 
presence was an imposition even upon her best 
friends. She assured me that but for her relig- 
ious training and the fear of doing wrong she 
would have taken her own life. 

At F — , Ohio, the principal of one of the pub- 
lic schools brought me a boy who was so utterly 
bad and viciously cruel that he had to be ex- 
pelled from the public school. The little fel- 
low, not yet ten years old, had been twice taken 
into custody by the police for his cruelty to 
younger children. On one occasion he had 
planned to kill a younger playmate but was 
stopped by a passerby. The young lad had a spe- 
cial dislike for his father and repeatedly affirmed, 
"I will kill the old man just as soon as I am old 
enough." The mother very injudiciously re- 
ferred to his dislike for his father during the 
examination and remarked that she guessed he 
didn't mean it; the boy looked up with an ex- 
pression of hatred on his face and said, "I do to, 
and I will show you some day." Then relax- 
ing the expression, he broke into a low, guttural, 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 289 

cruel, heartless laugh peculiar to the moral im- 
becile or born criminal. 

The mother informed me that she had been a 
society woman up to the time of her marriage. 
Her husband being a traveling salesman, she was 
accustomed to go much into society during his 
absence. Maternity was undesired. When it Undesired 
was forced upon her she felt she was being robbed Maternity. 
of her former social freedom and turned bitterly 
against her husband for the supposed imposition. 
She repeatedly attempted to destroy the unwel- 
come child. She said she despised it and at times 
felt so angry at its father that she could have 
killed him. As there was neither chronic alco- 
holism nor morbid heredity in either parent, this 
would-be parricide was undoubtedly the product 
of maternal impressions. 

A most excellent young married couple, both of 
whom were from good families, were greatly put 
out when they found they were to be parents. 
The young wife was so vexed that she did her 
best to destroy the foetus. She railed at her 
husband and frequently entertained morose, mur- a Mother Made 
derous desires during gestation — with the result Criminal. 
that her little boy manifested a disposition quite 
unlike the character natural to both parents. He 
had an ungovernable temper, would turn almost 
black in the face with anger and swear at his 
parents, threatening to cut them to pieces. When 
angry at his playmates he would mumble over 
the most cruel oaths, grit his teeth and declare 
he would kill them. He came near killing two 
children before he was seven years old and at 
eight deliberately planned to murder his little 



290 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

sister, struck her on the head with a hatchet, 
fracturing the skull and stunning her so that she 
was unconscious for two hours. 

While I was lecturing in Portland, Ore., a very 
inoffensive, delicate, modest little lady, with a 
kind, sympathetic face, called at my study with 
her eight-year-old boy requesting a careful de- 
scription and some advice in regard to his man- 
agement. The lad resembled his mother very 
Extreme Cruelty mU ch, mentally and temperamentally, except that 
he had an extremely cruel, revengeful nature. 
At the end of my description the mother said, "I 
have never been able to understand him. He de- 
lights in torturing everything. We just can't 
keep a cat about the place and I dare not let 
him play with other children. He is so cruel 
that he has become the terror of the neighbor- 
hood." 

When the lady left the study, I remarked to 
my wife, "That is a bad boy, he was an unwel- 
come child and that innocent little mother has 
attempted his destruction before he saw the light 
A Mother's of day. Bad maternal impressions have given 
Confession* ^^ deeded homicidal tendencies." A week 

later I gave a lecture to ladies in one of the 
churches in the residence portion of the city. 
The mother of the unfortunate child was pres- 
ent. In the course of the lecture cases similar 
to her own were cited. As the audience was pass- 
ing out the little lady approached my wife and 
began weeping. In order to avoid the crowd my 
wife took her into the parlors of the church 
where, amid burning tears and choking sobs, the 
heartbroken mother told the oft-repeated story of 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 291 

a husband's cruelty and unwillingness for her to 
bear children ; how she had destroyed six unwel- 
come children and had repeatedly attempted the 
destruction of this one but failed, only to realize 
when too late that she was not only a murderess, 
but also the mother of a child with homicidal 
tendencies implanted in his nature by her own un- 
natural desires. 

No tongue can describe nor pen portray the 
anguish of that poor soul awakened to the real- 
ization of her crime. Hundreds must some day 
suffer from a like awakening. Were it not for . 
the awful results and the frequency of such crimes Awakening, 
it would perhaps be kinder to leave them ignor- 
ant of their criminal responsibility, but when 
thousands are being unfortunately born under 
these morbid conditions and tens of thousands 
of innocent babes are being murdered, it is nec- 
essary to reveal the fact and to uncover the sin. 

Several pages could be filled with the citation 
of personal observations like the foregoing, while 
a volume might easily be compiled from the ob- wf^ortionT 11 " 
servations of others and the testimony gathered 
from physicians, but these will suffice. When 
we consider the frequency of abortion and at- 
temped abortion, it is easy to understand why 
so many are born with criminal tendencies. 

The number of prenatal murders in Europe 
and America is something appalling. As a crime 
it far exceeds all others, and, what is worse, it has 
increased more rapidly during the last 25 years 
than any other class of crime. If we can trust 
the testimony of the best physicians of the coun- 
try, the practice of destroying the unwelcome life 



292 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

is well nigh universal. Statistics of abortion, 
which probably do not include over one-half of 
the actual number of cases, indicate that fully 
one-third as many children are murdered before 
birth as are born. 

A recent report of the special committee on 
criminal abortion in Michigan contains this state- 
ment : "To so great an extent is abortion prac- 
Infantcide, ticed by American Protestant women that by a 

calculation of one of the committee based upon 
correspondence with nearly one hundred physi- 
cians, there comes to the knowledge of the phy- 
sicians 17 abortions to every 100 pregnancies. 
To these the committee believe may be added as 
many more that never come to the physician's 
knowledge, making 38 per cent, or one-third of 
all cases ending in miscarriage. The number of 
women that die from its immediate effects are 
not less than 6,000 per year." 

Dr. W. A. Chandler, a physician of over thirty 
years' practice, says he believes that "more than 
Prenatal one-half of the human race die before birth and 

Mortality* three-fourths of these are abortions by intent." 

Other physicians of wide experience have offered 
similar estimates, while many declare that "not 
more than one conception in three is allowed to 
come to a natural birth." 

Reckoning from the most conservative opin- 

- T t tTt ions there is one intentional abortion for every 
Number of Pre- . . J 

natal Murders, two natural births, and estimating that there are 

1,500,000 natural births per annum, this would 

indicate that there are 500,000 prenatal murders 

in the United States every year, or 1,393 P er day. 

Many hold that the destruction of the embryo 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE, 293 

prior to quickening is not murder. This is ab- 
surd. If murder is the destruction of human life, « A j 01,tion 
then whoever destroys a human being from the 
hour of its beginning is guilty of this crime. 

Mrs. Stockham in "Tokology," well says: 
"When the female germ and male sperm unite, 
then is the inception of a new life; all that goes 
to make up a human being — body, mind and spir- 
it, must be contained in embryo within this min- D*. Stockham on 
ute organism. Life must be present from ^'Abortion. 
very moment of conception. If there was not 
life there could be no conception. At what other 
period of a human being's existence, either pre- 
natal or postnatal, could the union of soul and 
body take place? Is it not plain that the violent 
or forcible deprivation of existence of this em- 
bryo, the removal of it from the citadel of life, 
is its premature death, and hence the act can 
be denominated by no milder term than murder, 
and whoever performs the act, or is accessory to 
it, in the sight of God and human law is guilty 
of the crime of all crimes." 

Is it any wonder that the Gospel of Jesus 

Christ fails to spiritualize a man or a woman „ , _ ^ , 4 

. . Crime Inevitable* 

whose conscience is calloused with this crime? 

Is it any wonder that the "still small voice" 
loses its persuasive power in a soul that has been 
deadened by murder? Is it any wonder that 
children born of parents who have habitually mur- 
dered their offspring should early manifest crim- 
inal tendencies? Is it any wonder that homi- 
cide and suicide are rapidly on the increase when 
thousands of parents are guilty of this crime? 



294 THE ABNORMAL MAN, 

Is it not a wonder that a righteous God does 
not smite the earth in indignation? 

England may well be proud of having largely 
put a stop to infanticide in India. Missionaries 

Chrisf"^ * from the United States have done much to re- 
duce child murder in China; but beneath the 
folds of the "Royal Jack" and the proud colors 
of "Old Glory," there exists a crime that would 
put the pagan mother to shame. 

If the children who have been murdered during 
the last twenty-five years and hurled into eternity 

The Infant Host, without an opportunity for development on the 
earth plane, could be reincarnated, they would 
form an army larger numerically than all the 
standing armies of the world, including Eng- 
land's mighty hosts in South Africa and the 
Americans in the Philippines. 

If there is a power that shapes the destiny of 

The Judgement na tio n s what must be the decree of heaven when 

Day of Nations, the high crimes of Christendom are reckoned? 
If there is a judgment day fixed by the resident 
forces of nature or by the sovereign will of 
nature's God, what must be the fate of intel- 
ligent men and women living in the full light of 
Christian civilization, yet habitually practicing 
this crime? 

If criminals must pay the penalty in a future 

A 4i <_ t«. i. i j life for the deeds of this one, what a hell must 

At tne l nresnolo , t . , 

of Eternity. await those whose hands are red with innocent 

blood! If man is a conscious being beyond the 

grave; if loved ones recognize their own; then 

heaven pity the thousands of parents who at the 

threshold of eternity must face the condemning 

eyes of the little ones whom God intrusted to 



HOMICIDE AND SUICIDE. 295 

their care, but whom they have murdered? 
What a nightmare of horror must sweep over 
them! What anguish of soul, what burning of 
conscience, what indescribable pain, what unut- 
terable grief must attend that hour ! 



CHAPTER XX. 



HEREDITY AND COMMERCIALISM. 



Mammon 
Worship. 



The Power of 
Wealth. 



In this chapter we shall study the relation of 
commercialism to heredity, more especially the 
prenatal influences exerted by the present mania 
for wealth. We shall consider the abuses of 
Avealth and the misery, vice and crime resulting 
therefrom only in so far as these conditions tend 
to produce a morbid heredity. 

Mammon worship is the mania, the sin and 
the crime of the age. Upon the golden altar of 
this god of the nations we sacrifice comfort, 
fidelity, virtue, culture, honor, liberty and charac- 
ter. In our blindness we have failed to see the 
far-reaching effects upon posterity of this mad 
rush for wealth. 

Americans have been called a nation of shop- 
keepers, money-makers, gold worshipers and com- 
mercial sharpers. Deny this as we may, money 
has an extraordinary power over us. Wealth 
buys friends, favors and position; it governs 
society, municipalities, political parties, and 
largely controls national and international rela- 
tions. Wealth makes an acceptable apology to 
the public for a man's stupidity, ignorance, vice 
and even his crime. Men of the most disreputable 
character, if kid gloved and bolstered with bonds, 
are frequently admitted into the best (?) society 



COMMERCIALISM. 297 

and placed in high official positions, while men 
of culture, refinement, virtue and moral worth 
often struggle in vain for recognition. 

The super-normal power exhibited by wealth in 
every department of life makes poverty a disgrace Poverty a 
and the fear of poverty and its consequences the &***• 
nightmare, the constant terror of millions. The 
mad struggle, not for the necessities and com- 
forts of life, but for riches and its pomp, power 
and privileges, produces a constant strain upon 
all. It robs home of its quiet joy, honest toil of its 
contentment, commerce of legitimate business, 
public trust of fidelity, patient study of its reward, 
moral worth of its just recognition, and places a 
bounty upon commercial shrewdness, political 
trickery, professional quackery and religious bun- 
combe. 

The instinct to acquire is natural. To lay up 
property and prepare for old age, future want and 
those depending upon one; is not only the right, 
but the duty of all. "If any provide not for his J^« Right to 
own, he is worse than an infidel." To convert 
the crude materials of nature into such things as 
minister to the health, happiness and progress of 
humanity, or to increase the wealth of the world 
by the honest accumulation of a large fortune, is 
certainly commendable. For a number of men 
to combine their wealth and energy in order to 
develop and conduct a business that is too extens- 
ive to be successfully operated by one, is per- 
fectly legitimate; but none of these necessitate 
the overwork, rush, greed, and criminal abuses 
of wealth that characterize modern commercial- 
ism. 



298 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

Commercialism exalts the few and enslaves the 
masses. Of the immediate results of this all are 

WealtL painfully aware. The wretchedness, misery, and 

struggles of the poor; the indolence, dissipation 
and equally unfortunate conditions of the ex- 
tremely rich, have been the inspiration of many 
writers. Deception, robbery, forgery, the break- 
ing of public trusts, the defrauding of the unsus- 
pecting, the buying of courts and legislators, the 
wrecking of legitimate business by monopoly, and 
the sacrifice of national honor in the interests of 

Succeeding Gen ~ avar icious capitalists, have been fully discussed 
in the press and on the platform; yet the larger 
part of the baneful results arising from the super- 
normal power conferred upon wealth is expressed 
in the heredity of succeeding generations. 

Poverty and overwork are both unnecessary. 
Careful calculations indicate that four hours a day 
of well directed labor by every able bodied man 

Saving is an d woman would provide the entire pupulation 

Unnecessarv* » 

with all the necessities and most of the luxuries 

now enjoyed by the well-to-do classes. Four 
hours a day of labor is not more exercise than 
should be taken for the development and main- 
tenance of physical strength and mental vigor. 

Under present conditions the masses are com- 
pelled to slave to a point of exhaustion and eke 
out a miserable existence, while the few live in 
Excessive Toil luxury, ease and dissipation, on the wealth thus 
Injwes Offspring. p roduced — the resu i t being that neither are in 

condition to give a good inheritance to offspring. 
Even among the independent classes, where 
neither poverty nor circumstances necessitate 
overwork, the mania to get rich induces many to 



COMMERCIALISM. 299 

exhaust themselves completely, physically or men- 
tally, so that they parent children who are sadly 
wanting in physical strength and mental vigor. 

Many children are bom tired! The over- 
worked energies of the parents, their tired con- 
dition at the time of the initial of life, and in the 
mother during gestation have robbed them of all 
physical vigor. A farmer carefully protects his 
brood animals, feeds them well and sees that they TfrecL ° m 
are not overworked ; his wife, however, is allowed 
to slave from daylight until late at night with one 
child at the breast and another developing beneath 
her heart. His colts take the premium at the fair ; 
his children are weaklings, dullards, or loafers. 
Poorly fed, overworked mothers give birth to 
most of that constitutionally tired, indifferent, 
worthless class called tramps. 

Overwork depletes the brain as well as the body. 
Most children born from exhausted parents are 
poorly endowed mentally and morally. When 
the energies of parents are largely directed to the Overwork De- 
muscles their offspring are usually more muscular P lctes t&* Brain. 
than intellectual or moral. I have observed that 
business and professional men, who in their eager- 
ness to accumulate, greatly overtax their nervous 
system, frequently parent comparatively inferior 
children. Seldom does an overworked profes- 
sional or public man parent a child with a men- 
tality that is the equal of the father's. 

Again, the constant effort to accumulate aug- 

, , . . . . t . Commercialism, 

ments the propensities to an abnormal degree and Begets Selfish- 

correspondingly weakens the other powers. It ness » 

creates inordinate selfishness, robs the intellectual 

and esthetic faculties, leaves the social nature 



300 THE ABNORMAL MAN, 

cold and indifferent, the ambitions narrow and 
selfish and the moral sentiments passive or weak. 
Children born of parents whose whole lives have 
been devoted to accumulating wealth — who have 
sacrificed all their finer feelings, comfort, culture 
and religious development in order to make a 
fortune — cannot be otherwise than selfish and 
commonplace. 

The significance of the foregoing proposition 
will be appreciated only by those who have made 

ed'ouant'fr^*" a stuc ty °^ m * n d- The mental power of every 
individual is a limited quantity, some having 
much more than others. Doubtless the quantity 
may be increased by use and diminished by dis- 
use ; but this does not alter the fact that mind is a 
limited quantity. What the world calls a "genius" 
What Constitutes is, in most instances, one in whom the mind power 
a Genius. j s larg-ely expressed in some special talent: if it 

happens to be in the direction of reverence and 
spirituality, he becomes a religious enthusiast; if 
through the reasoning or poetic sentiments, he is a 
philosopher or a poet ; if in the scientific or inven- 
tive faculties, he is an inventor ; if in the acquisi- 
tive instincts, he becomes a great financier ; if his 
mind power is mainly expressed through the 
animal propensities, he becomes a great criminal. 
The difference, therefore, between the born crim- 
inal and the born inventor is that their super- 
normal powers lie in different directions. 

Now, the concentration of mental force in the 

The Future direction of money making is rapidly developing 

American. ^ fi nanc j a i instinct in the American people. This 

means that the genius of the coming citizen, the 

strongest characteristic of the future American, 



COMMERCIALISM, 301 

is to be the tendency to acquire — in other words, 
egoism and selfishness. 

It is needless to comment on what must be the 
doom of a republic wherein the highest ambition 
is the making of money. Wealth has its uses in ^°^ ^^ Rule 
individual and national life. Perhaps no nation 
can become great without great wealth ; but if the 
accumulation of wealth is made the end, if the 
public mind has no higher ambition or loftier pur- 
pose than this, then shall gold rule to ruin. If art, 
literature, science and religion are all to be sacri- 
ficed in order that the young American may be- 
come a great financier, then shall the greatest 
republic in history sink below the horizon of civil- 
ization. 

Children born from honest parents are often 
dishonest. Where parents devote their entire time 
to making money so that the acquisitive instinct 
is constantly exercised, their children are often so 
selfish as to make it difficult for them to be honest. 
Some years ago an evangelist and missionary 
brought me his two children for study, declaring Dishonesty. S * 
they were positively unlike and that he could not 
understand how it was possible for brothers to 
differ so widely. The elder one was a very bright 
boy, studious, thoughtful, kind and unselfish ; the 
younger had a fair intellect, was very energetic, 
but so abnormally selfish that he was almost un- 
manageable. He wanted everything his own 
way, would never willingly divide with others and 
was given to pilfering. The first child was born 
soon after the father and mother left college; he 
was a student, as they had been. For three years 
prior to the birth of the second child the parents 



302 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Dishonest 
Children from 
Honest Parents. 



Business Decep- 
tion Produces 
Criminals. 



The Offspring 
of Thieves. 



had been engaged in raising money tor mission- 
ary purposes, receiving a per cent for their serv- 
ices. They had lived penuriously and devoted 
all their energies to making money. Their ab- 
normally selfish child was a very fair reproduc- 
tion of their lives. I have met many similar cases 
where the effects of the family life were plainly 
visible in the offspring. Any reader who will 
take the pains to study the prenatal conditions of 
a number of children and compare these with their 
dispositions will be able to observe similar results. 

If honest parents by concentrating their forces 
largely in the line of money making may so 
accentuate this propensity as to endow their off- 
spring with a tendency to steal, what must be the 
result where this condition exists together with 
dishonesty? Misrepresentation in the name of 
business has become well nigh universal. Decep- 
tion is practiced in almost every branch of trade ! 
Habitual deception on the part of business men 
must influence their offspring. 

A very interesting and significant fact, well 
known to detectives and the police, is that the 
kind of deception or theft practiced by parents is 
usually practiced by their offspring. In many 
instances this is due to postnatal training, but not 
in all. Even when children born of dishonest 
parents are placed in good families in early in- 
fancy they frequently develop the characteristics 
of their parents. Shoplifters beget shoplifters; 
burglars beget burglars; petty thieves, petty 
thieves; and counterfeiters, counterfeiters. 

A good illustration of this is seen in the John- 
son family of counterfeiters. The grandfather 



COMMERCIALISM. 303 

was a great counterfeiter. The members of the 

next generation were well known to the police 

and were considered experts, while in the third ** Family of 

Counterfeiters* 
generation the criminal skill reached such a high 

degree in seven brothers and sisters that they were 

considered the most expert counterfeiters in 

America. 

Through the law of heredity and prenatal cul- 
ture the speculative and gambling instinct is being 
developed to an alarming degree. Ten times Increase of the 
more money changes hands today in games of intact 
chance, in proportion to the population and wealth 
of the country, than did a quarter of a century 
ago. Honest, steady increase no longer satisfies the 
average man. Many prefer to risk their all in 
wild speculation, or to enter some illegitimate 
business that offers exceptional profits rather than 
settle down to honest trade. 

This gambling instinct is seen not only among 
the great financiers of the world, who manipulate 
the boards of trade and stock exchanges; in the 
professional gambler and swindler, but also 
among artisans, shopkeepers and common labor- 
ers. Thousands of hard earned dollars pass from Common^to all 
the horny hands of labor to the soft hand of the Classes, 
professional in our pool rooms and gaming houses 
every night. It is estimated that there are 250,- 
000,000 poker chips in use in this country, nearly 
all of which represent coin in games of chance, 
and yet this is but one of thousands of devices for 
gratifying the gambling instinct. 

Thousands of children are born with morbid 
commercial inclinations. Their first manifesta- 



304 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

Hon of the acquisitive instinct is expressed in a 

game of chance or some deceptive scheme. 

I recently studied a bright boy whose father 

was a gambler and false financier. The boy was a 

Tendency great success as a money-maker. While in school 

Toward Gamb- 

ling Inborn, he would make from $i to $3 a week by trading, 

playing marbles and games of chance. He was 

always planning some scheme to get rich quickly, 

and it is safe to say that nine out of ten of them 

were based on deception. Like most gamblers, 

he never saved more than a living ; his mania was 

gambling; he cared little for the spoils after he 

got them. This seems to be characteristic of most 

gamblers. They are like the hunter in the chase, 

ofGamblersT ° ea g er an< 3 wild with enthusiasm until the game 
is captured, but caring nothing for it afterward. 
If gambling continues to increase it must of neces- 
sity undermine legitimate business by destroying 
the normal manifestation of the acquisitive 
instinct. 

Class distinction is another evil resulting from 
commercialism. We boast of our Democratic 
principles, and on the Fourth of July loudly affirm 

Fwirt^of July that "all men are born free and equal," and then 
proceed to observe class distinction everywhere. 
This is noticeable not only between the rich and 
the poor, but among all classes. Clerks and type- 
writers feel themselves above common laborers 
and domestics, teachers and professionals form 
another class. Most people of wealth consider it 

Class Distinction, beneath them to associate with the poor. The 
result of all this is a mutual antagonism between 
the two extremes. Out of this unnatural condi- 
tion perverted, vicious, and even criminal tenden- 



COMMERCIALISM, 305 

cies are developed in one generation and transmit- 
ted to the next. 

Nihilism and anarchy are inevitable results of 
class hatred. Children born of parents of the 
middle and lower classes frequently have an 
innate antipathy for the wealthy and those in 
authority. This inborn aversion is easily fanned Nihilism and 
into hatred by the political agitator and often Anarchy, 
results in anarchy or crime. 

If the Government is to stop the rapid increase 
of this dangerous class it will be necessary to 
respect a man for his manhood regardless of his 
bank account, stop irritating — for political pur- 
poses — the antagonism between capital and labor, 
and cultivate a more kindly spirit between the 
masses and the classes. 

Many criminal anarchists have received pre- 
natal impressions which strongly inclined them 
to commit crime. Ling, who cast the first dyna- 
mite bomb in the Haymarket Square riot, in 
Chicago, inherited his hatred for the nobility 
from his mother. She was a housekeeper in the Ling the 
home of an English landlord and is said to have Anarchist. 
suffered many impositions during gestation. 
She not only despised her oppressor, but in her 
moments of anger threatened his life. Ling, like 
Ishmael, was born with a deep feeling of revenge 
interwoven in every fiber of his nature. 

A striking illustration of the evil effects of 
class hatred as a prenatal influence is seen in the 
atrocious crimes committed by colored men in the 
South during the last quarter of a century. It is 
a significant fact that most of these colored crim- 
inals were born during the agitation preceding 



306 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



The Colored 
Criminal* 



The Product of 
Slavery. 



Money ani 
Matrimony, 



the Civil War, during the war, or directly there- 
after, while the parents were filled with the desire 
for revenge. 

The negro is not naturally vicious. Unlike 
the North American Indian — who was cruel by 
nature — the native African was comparatively 
inoffensive and non-destructive. The early his- 
tory of the African slave reveals very little crim- 
inal tendency, but under the abuses of slavery the 
revengeful spirit was gradually developed. Most 
of the slaves of the South belonged to noble men 
and women of heart and brain, who treated them 
well; and among those so treated crime against 
person was very rare. Some, however, were sub- 
jected to the most inhuman cruelty; virtue was 
outraged, families were broken up, and prospect- 
ive mothers were compelled to stand by and see 
their loved ones sold or brutally ill-treated. The 
revengeful feeling thus generated in the parental 
mind and the maternal impressions thus made 
gave to the forming children the instincts of the 
criminal. 

Commercialism degrades matrimony. Through 
its seductive influence thousands marry persons to 
whom they are most illy adapted ; persons whom 
they never would marry but for their money. 
Not only do many marry from mercenary mo- 
tives but the social position of each is so largely 
determined by one's bank account that young peo- 
ple are thus limited almost entirely to their par- 
ticular class. 

A young lady of wealth may be drawn through 
her affections and judgment to a young man who 
has nothing to offer but manhood, culture, 



COMMERCIALISM. 307 

honesty and ambition. Their union would per- 
haps be a most favorable one ; but commercialism 

has so distorted public sentiment that if she mar- Character 

, . , . , . . . . r 1 a Secondary 

ries this poor man she is severely criticised for her Consideration. 

choice, whereas, if she marries a man of wealth, 
she is said to have married well and receives the 
congratulations of her friends. The question of 
compatibility, the personal habits and the moral 
character of the man are secondary considera- 
tions. 

Commercial unions are seldom happy ones. 
Thousands behind gilded walls are silently tread- 
ing the wine-press of their own misery, vainly 
wishing to recall the halcyon days of youth in 
which to consummate a lovematch. Children born Unions? 7 
from such parents are seldom as well endowed 
physically, mentally or morally as their parents; 
moreover, the social inharmony that usually ob- 
tains, or the desire for other associations, fre- 
quently produces most undesirable tendencies in 
offspring. 

Commercialism tends to concentrate capital. 
The evil effects of this on posterity are so varied 
and far-reaching that they are difficult to esti- Commercial 
mate. The greatest obstacle in the way of prog- 
ress in every country is that most of the popula- 
tion is born from the lower, overworked, poorly 
fed, illiterate classes. 

The concentration of capital has a tendency to 
drive the dependent classes to the cities where 
children are born under more unfavorable con- Where Crimin- 
ditions than would be possible in the country. 
The overcrowded centers of our large cities are 
the incubators of the vicious and criminal classes. 



3 o8 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Poverty and 
Crime* 



Environment 
and Crime* 



Commercialism 
and Vice. 



Fully twice as many criminals are born in the 
cities in proportion to the population as in the 
country. 

It is true that bad environments and vicious 
postnatal training have much to do in producing 
the dependent and criminal classes. In some in- 
stances they are doubtless the principal factors; 
yet a careful comparison of the physical develop- 
ment and psychology of ioo children born in the 
better districts of a city with ioo born in the 
poorer districts will readily show that the former 
have by inheritance a great advantage over the 
latter. 

Mr. Ferri, before the Congress of Criminal 
Anthropology in Paris, said : "Out of ioo persons 
living in the same misery and abandonment, 60 
commit no crime; of the other 40, 5 commit sui- 
cide, 5 become insane, 5 are beggars and 25 com- 
mit crime ; therefore, social environment is not the 
exclusive cause of crime. " 

Commercialism is fast becoming one of the 
principal causes of prostitution and its correlated 
evils. The miserable pittance paid salesgirls, fac- 
tory hands and women who toil in the sweat- 
shops drives thousands into a life of shame. The 
salaries paid in many instances will not house, 
feed and clothe the toiler; therefore, she is abso- 
lutely forced to sell herself, steal, starve, beg or 
commit suicide. Anna Besant aptly said, "Our 
great employers build homes for fallen women 
while they are manufacturing them in their fac- 
tories." 

I recall a scene in a room where four young 
women toiled day and night making vests at a 



COMMERCIALISM. 309 

price that enabled them to earn $1.25 a week 
each. It was an inside room, up next to a hot 
tin roof. The furniture consisted of three chairs, 
a sewing machine, a table, a cot, and an oil stove. | cene t i |t' 
In this little room they cooked, labored and 
existed. Day and night three worked while one 
slept, each taking her turn of 12 hours in work- 
ing buttonholes and finishing, 6 hours at the 
machine, and 6 on the cot to rest, with barely 
time enough off to prepare and despatch the 
scanty meal. 

A young woman in Chicago who worked on 
mole skin pantaloons said that with full work she 
could earn $2 a week, out of which she had to 
expend 37c for thread and candle. On an aver- 
age, on account of shortness of work, she could a Straggle for 
not make more than 75c a week. She lived this Existence, 
way for three years before she fell. Women 
who have such courage of conviction as to be true 
to their conscience under conditions like these are 
worthy of an eternity amid the company of 
angels. Is it any wonder that thousands despair 
and sell themselves in order to live? 

When we remember that in the United States 
alone there are over 200,000 girls employed in the 
shops, factories and department stores, it is easy 
to see why so many are driven to a life of shame. 
When we realize that hundreds of these girls bear a s Wives and 
illegitimate children who are the product of star- Mothers, 
vation and vice and that thousands who have 
been totally disqualified for the duties of wife 
and mother marry men as wretched and degraded 
as themselves, we can readily understand how 
commercialism is directly causing tens of thou- 
sands to be unfortunately born. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



HEREDITY AND INTEMPERANCE. 



King Alcohol is the worst enemy of the race. 
He begets more unfortunate offspring and pro- 
duces more poverty, pauperism, imbecility, in- 
sanity, vice and crime than any other monster. 
King Alcohol, ^- e * s ^^ e ^ther of the dependent and delinquent 
classes. The liquor traffic is the greatest factor 
operative today in consolidating capital ; the most 
potential force in robbing, oppressing and en- 
slaving labor; the most seductive power brought 
to bear upon legislation ; the most subtle corruptor 
of municipalities; the vilest opponent of public 
and private morals; the principal cause and per- 
petrator of prostitution ; the boldest desecrator of 
the Christian Sabbath, and the sworn enemy of 
the church. 

At first these statements seem extravagant, but 
careful investigation and unprejudiced considera- 
More Cruel tion of the facts will convince anyone of their 
than War* truth. Alcoholism when studied from a com- 

mercial, sociological, pathological and ethical 
point of view is found to be the greatest force 
now operative in degrading and destroying the 
race. It exceeds the cruelties of war, famine and 
pestilence. 

In attempting to discuss in a single chapter a 
few of the more important phases of alcoholism 



INTEMPERANCE. 3 1 1 

and its relation to heredity I shall necessarily have 
to generalize the facts and give only such statis- 
tics as are necessary to indicate the relation of 
intemperance to poverty, pauperism, insanity and 
crime. The comparative statistics here given, 
bearing upon the financial and labor side of the 
question are in the main taken from the Bureau 
of Statistics of 1893. Therefore, those indicating 
the running expenses of the government and the 
expenses of the war and navy are much lower 
than these have been since the war with Spain Reckoning, 
and the expansion of the army and navy. The 
other statistics, however, are relatively, substan- 
tially correct for 1900; for while there has been 
a rapid increase in the various expenditures used 
in comparison, the increase in the consumption of 
liquor has more than kept pace. Therefore, were 
it possible to revise these figures and show the 
relative expense and evils arising from the liquor 
traffic at the present time, the facts would be even 
worse than here indicated. 

Liquor and poverty go hand in hand. The 
statistics of all civilized countries show the con- q^ q^^ f 
sumption of liquor to be the most expensive and Hard Times, 
harmful luxury of the people. The continued 
cry of "hard times" is due, in the main, to the use 
of narcotics. Over one-third of the net earnings 
of the entre civilized world is spent for fermented 
wines, alcoholic liquors, beer and tobacco. 

The following figures indicate the cost of the 

liquor traffic in the United States and what it A « „ 

1 . , , T . Annual Cost of 

means in comparison with other expenses. If we Narcotics. 

were to add to this opium, morphine, cigarettes 

and tobacco, we would have to more than double 



312 THE ABNORMAL MAN, 

the figures that indicate the expense of narcotics. 
According to the statistics of 1893 * ne liquor 
traffic alone cost the United States nearly three 
billion dollars over and above the revenues 
derived therefrom: 

Annual drink bill of the United 

States $1,352,016,020 

Value of materials used in man- 
ufacturing liquors 150,000,000 

Loss on labor by drunkenness . . 640,000,000 

Value of labor employed by the 

traffic 500,000,000 

UqLor Traffic Cost of crime caused by liquor. . 310,580,000 

Cost of sickness caused indirectly 

by drunkenness 125,500,000 

Support of paupers caused by 

drink 10,120,000 

Support of those insane from 

drink 4,800,000 

Total annual cost of the traffic. $3,073,016,020 

Total government revenue on all 

liquors 136,525,860 

State and municipal revenue, 

license, etc 45,548,983 

Total revenues, duties and 

Revenues licenses collected $182,074,843 

ollected. 

Total annual loss above all 

revenues $2,890,841,177 



INTEMPERANCE. 313 

The above figures are based upon the most 
conservative estimates; those referring to crime, 
insanity, pauperism, and sickness being 25 per 
cent lower than the reports given by many of the 
most authentic statisticians. The "annual drink 
bill" simply represents the legitimate licensed sale 
of liquors on which government duty has been 
collected and does not therefore include "moon- Estimate, 
shine whisky," the barrels of chemical com- 
pounds that are sold for whisky, or the illicit 
sales; neither do the above figures include many 
of the great expenses caused by drunkenness, such 
as fires, railroad accidents, explosions, damages 
by mobs, strikes and lockouts, one-half of the 
police service of the country, etc., etc. 

Taking this estimated annual cost of the liquor 
traffic of $2,890,841,177 as a basis of compari- 
son, which, it must be noted, is extremely con- 
servative (perhaps not less than 25 per cent below 
the actual cost), I will place it in comparison with 
other great money questions, that the reader may 
be better prepared to appreciate its meaning and 
realize how far the liquor question exceeds all 
other financial questions : 

Annual cost of the liquor traffic. $2,890,851,177 Liquor versus 

War and navy expenses 82,547,427 5^ vernment 

Appropriation for Spanish- 
American war 50,000,000 

Indemnity paid to Spain 20,000,000 

Demonetized silver and silver 

currency 575,948,822 

National aggregate debt (in '93) 961,946,492 

Tariff duties collected I 98>373,453 



3H 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



A Startling 
Comparison* 



The Greatest 

Commercial 

Problem* 



Total government running ex- 
penses 459,374,887 

Pensions ^ 159,357,558 

Losses by fire in the United 

States 158,521,000 

Net earnings of all railroads in 

the United States 358,638,520 

From the above it will be readily seen that the 
annual cost of the liquor traffic to the United 
States is over fifty-seven times as much as the 
amount appropriated by our government to begin 
the war with Spain, and over one hundred and 
forty-four times as much as the indemnity paid 
Spain for the Philippine Islands; five times the 
amount of the demonetized silver currency ; three 
times as much as the nation's aggregate debt; 
fifteen times as much as the tariff; six times as 
much as the total government running expenses ; 
eighteen times as much as is paid in pensions; 
thirty-five times as large as the war and navy 
expenses; eighteen times as large as the loss by 
fire ; and eight times as much as the net earnings 
of all the railroads of the country. 

Add together the amount of the appropriation 
for the Spanish-American war, the indemnity 
paid to Spain, the demonetized silver currency, 
the United States debt, the tariff revenues col- 
lected, the total government running expenses, 
the pensions paid and the war and navy expenses 
for 1893 and we have in round numbers $2,497,- 
548,339, which is $393,292,538 less than the an- 
nual cost of the liquor traffic. Let those who 
have been complaining about war taxes, pensions 



INTEMPERANCE, 315 

and railroad monopolies, yet voting for the con- 
tinuation of the liquor traffic, put the foregoing 
facts together! 

The hereditary and prenatal influence of the 
poverty and suffering caused by the liquor traffic 
is beyond estimation. The only way for us to 
form even the slightest concept, is to look at a, 
single family and see the poverty and its influence 
upon parents and children. A thousand little Poverty and 
comforts that might be enjoyed are denied; in-Hwdfcv* 
stead of the pleasant home there is the rented flat, 
tenement house or tumble-down shack. Instead 
of good schools and a well stocked home library 
for the children, there is the workshop or the 
"sweater." Instead of the social advantages of 
the temperate and well-to-do, there are the cruel 
restrictions of poverty and the bad associations 
that it too often brings. Instead of the mother's 
being light hearted and cheerful, she is too often 
downcast and discouraged. Instead of being well 
nourished and full of physical vigor, she is usually 
overworked, exhausted and incapable of the 
proper performance of the maternal function. 
The inevitable result of all this is that children 
are unfortunately born and equally as unfortu- 
nately brought up. Both the prenatal and post- — 
natal effects are bad. Poverty robs offspring of the Inebriate. 
what might have been a good inheritance, and 
prevents the proper development of even the poor 
inheritance it has received. Now, if we enlarge 
this thought to make it include thousands, nay, 
millions of families, we get some idea of the evils 
Avrought simply through the poverty that is pro- 
duced by the needless use of narcotics. 



316 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

In the chapter on Commercialism we have seen 
Intemperance that the greater part of the population is born in 
the homes of the poor. It is also true that the 
use of narcotics, particularly alcoholic drinks, is 
proportionately more prevalent among the poorer 
classes than among the well-to-do; therefore, a 
very large per cent of the population is directly or 
indirectly subjected to the hereditary influence of 
The Poor Man's narcotics. The saloon too often becomes "the 
poor man's savings bank," where he deposits his 
hard earnings to the credit of the liquor 
monopoly. 

The labor power of the United States is esti- 
mated to be worth $8,000,000,000 per annum; 
the loss on labor caused by drink is variously 
estimated at from 8 to 18 per cent; at 10 per cent 
this would mean $800,000,000 ; add to this $500,- 
000,000, the estimated value of the labor power 
of the one million men employed by the liquor 
traffic (whose labor is entirely non-productive of 

Drink and the that which benefits or enriches the human race), 
Labor Problem. and we haye a total direct 1qss Qn labor of $^300,- 

000,000, or over 16 per cent of the entire labor 
power of the country. This fact, taken in con- 
nection with the one previously given, that over 
one-third of the net earnings of the world are 
spent for narcotics, will enable the reader to 
account for much of the poverty and pauperism 
among the laboring classes, as well as to form 
some idea of the -financial relation of intemper- 
nce to heredity. 
I have already referred to the relation of in- 
temperance to epilepsy, idiocy, insanity and crime, 
and while authorities differ much in the per cent 



INTEMPERANCE. 317 

of each attributable directly or indirectly to the 
use of narcotics, yet the most conservative place Intemperance 
alcoholism as the principal cause. According to 
the "Dictionary des Sciences Medicales." The 
proportion of crime caused by habits of intemper- 
ance in England is 43 per cent, Belgium 80 per 
cent, Sweden 31 per cent, Germany 44 per cent, 
and Denmark 74 per cent." In the United States 
it is variously estimated at from 50 to 80 per 
cent. 

The hereditary influence of the criminal 
tendency acquired by the use of liquor in parents 
is plainly marked in the offspring. Dugdale Prison Statistics, 
found that 38 per cent of the inmates of the New 
York Reformatory were children of drunken 
parents. In a list of 26 criminal habitual drunk- 
ards 14 had parents who were habitual drunk- 
ards; 5 of these 14 were of pauper stock, 6 of a 
criminal family and 3 were insane or nervously 
disordered. Out of these 26 habitual drunkards 
4 had occasional drunkards for fathers, the habits 
of 6 others were unknown; but it is noteworthy 
that not one had parents who were temperate. Parents of 
Carefully drawn statistics of the 4,000 criminals Criminals. 
who passed through Elmira, New York, showed 
that drunkenness clearly existed in the parents in 
38.7 per cent, and probably in 11.1 per cent more. 
Marro found on an average that 41 per cent of 
the criminals he examined had a drunken parent, 
as against 16 per cent for normal persons. 

No fact is better established than that the off- 
spring of inebriates are more prone to the use of 
narcotics than are the children of the temperate. 
Darwin says : "It is remarkable that all the evils 



3i8 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Inebriety 
Transmitted* 



Race 
Degeneracy* 



coming from alcoholism can pass from father to 
son, even to the third generation, and they become 
worse if the use of alcohol is continued, until 
they result in sterility." 

It is true that the descendants of alcoholics do 
not always show an abnormal desire for liquor 
as the principal hereditary effect; not infrequently 
the bad heredity is expressed in epilepsy, idiocy, 
and criminality. Moral quotes a case in which 
a father was alcoholic, the mother insane, and of 
their five children one committed suicide, two 
became convicts, one daughter was mad and the 
other a semi-imbecile. Dr. Fletcher Beech records 
that out of 430 cases of inebriety 31.6 per cent 
bore idiotic offspring. 

Grenier, of Paris, says : "Alcohol is one of the 
most active agents in the degeneracy of the races. 
The indelible effects produced by heredity are not 
to be remedied. Alcoholic descendants are often 
inferior beings, a notable proportion coming 
under the categories of idiots, imbeciles, and the 
debilitated. The morbid influence of parents is 
maximum when conception has taken place at 
the time of drunkenness of one or both parties. 
Those with hereditary alcoholism show a tend- 
ency to excess; half of them become alcoholics; 
a large number of cases of neurosis have their 
principal cause in alcoholic antecedents. The 
larger part of the sons of alcoholics have convul- 
sions in early infancy. Epilepsy is almost char- 
acteristic of the alcoholism of parents when it is 
not a reproduction in them or when it is not an 
index of a nervous disposition of the whole 
family. The alcoholic delirium is more frequent 



INTEMPERANCE, 319 

in the descendants of alcoholics than in their 
parents, which indicates their intellectual degen- 
eration." 

It is difficult to determine the exact proportion 
of defective offspring from inebriate parents as 
compared with the normal population. Careful 
estimates, based upon the most reliable statistics 
obtainable in Europe and America, indicate that 
82.5 per cent of the children born of inebriate offering from 
parents die before the age of two, are defective Alcoholics, 
from birth, are epileptic, feeble-minded, develop 
into habitual alcoholics, prostitutes, become 
criminals or go insane; while of the offspring of 
the normal population (which of course includes 
the abnormal) about 48.2 per cent are so affected. 
Limited observations made among families where 
alcoholic liquors or other narcotics have not been 
used for two or more generations indicate that 
less than 21 per cent of the offspring are defective 
or can be classed with any of those mentioned. 

In other words, in 10,000 persons born from 
intemperate and inebriate families we should ex- 
pect to find 8,250 defective offspring; in 10,000 
persons born from the normal population we 
should expect to find 4,820 defective off spring ; Temperate ver- 
while in 10,000 born from strictly temperate f am- sus Intemperate 
ilies, only 2,100. Thus it will be seen that 60 arcn ge * 
per cent more of the offspring of inebriate or 
intemperate parents die in infancy, are epileptic, 
feeble-minded, or inherit alcoholic, insane or crim- 
inal tendencies, than the offspring born from tem- 
perate parents. 

Demme studied ten families of drinkers and 
ten families of temperate persons. The direct 



320 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Demme's 
Observations. 



Alcohol and 
Prostitution* 



Parentage of 
Erring Girls* 



posterity of the ten families of drinkers included 
57 children. Of these, 25 died in the first weeks 
and months of their lives ; six were idiots ; in five 
a striking backwardness of their growth in size 
was observed; five were affected with epilepsy, 
and five with inborn diseases. Thus, of the 57 
children of drinkers only 10, or 17.5 per cent, 
had normal constitutions and healthful growth. 
The ten sober families had 61 children, of which 
five died in the first weeks; four were affected 
with curable diseases of the nervous system, and 
only two had inborn defects. Of the remaining 
fifty 81.9 per cent were normal in their constitu- 
tions and development. 

King Alcohol is the father of prostitution. 
Drunkenness is as sure to produce lasciviousness 
as fire is to produce heat. When a young man 
begins drinking, no matter how pure his life, he 
will soon become unchaste. Very few who use 
narcotics to any extent are normal in their sexual 
instincts. Even men who are not morally de- 
linquent are rarely able to live oure lives if ad- 
dicted to the use of liquor. 

Where fathers are brutalized by liquor the per- 
verted tendencies are often fully transmitted. In 
looking up the family history of 2,000 erring 
girls it was found that 1,464 had drunken fathers, 
and 1,140 drunke-n mothers. Among the scarlet 
women of America 70 per cent are born from 
parents who use narcotics; over 60 per cent of 
them attribute their fall to drink and the ball 
room. 

Prostitution is often hereditary. It may run 
through many generations even where there is 



INTEMPERANCE. 321 

no unusual exciting cause. Ada Juke, or ''Mar- 
garet, the Mother of Criminals," was a notorious 
harlot. Her descendants traced through five gen- 
erations include 162 women who grew to ma- 
turity: 74 of these were harlots. Dr. Praskovia P«*ti*«tion « 
n* « • -1 r- -r^ , Hereditary. 

1 arnovskaia examined at St. Petersburg 50 pros- 
titutes and found that 84 per cent showed various 
signs of hereditary physical degeneration ; 82 per 
cent had parents who were habitual drunkards; 
18 per cent were the last survivors of a large 
family. 

Most authorities are agreed that a larger pro- 
portion of prostitutes are hereditarily abnormal 
than are criminals. It is estimated that 47 per 
cent of the female descendants of harlots who 
grow to maturity become prostitutes. The Juke 
family, traced through six generations, shows Family, 
52.4 per cent; while in the normal population of 
the entire country there is less than 2.4 per cent. 
In other words, in 10,000 women born from the 
normal population we should expect to find 24 
prostitutes, while in 10,000 women born from 
harlots we should expect to find 4,800 prosti- 
tutes. Now, when we consider that the normal 
population includes the abnormal, the potency of 
the hereditary tendencies become even more ap- 
parent than these figures indicate. 

Some are inclined to the opinion that prostitu- 
tion is largely or wholly due to postnatal influ- 

T • ,, • • , , . The Children of 

ences. In many instances this is true, but not Scarlet Women. 

in all. Many children born of scarlet women have 
been placed in early infancy in good Christian 
homes, loved, cared for, and brought up under 
favorable social and religious influences; yet but 



3 22 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Evidence of 

Transmitted 

Inebriety. 



few of these can be exposed with safety to the 
ordinary temptations of youth. 

It requires no argument or compilation of 
statistics to prove to the intelligent reader that 
the tendencies toward intemperance and abnormal 
appetites for narcotics are frequently transmitted 
from parent to child. Every community has its 
own unanswerable argument. Thousands of men 
and women are conscious of an inborn abnormal 
desire for opium, morphine, liquor or tobacco. 
Many who never drank a glass of liquor in their 
lives or smoked a cigar have an inordinate desire 
that makes narcotics a constant temptation. 
Thousands of otherwise well-born men and 
women are constantly menaced by this inherent 
desire and must either fight it continually or yield 
to its destructive power. 

One of America's most widely known temper- 
A^Struggle with ance lecturers said to me only a few weeks be- 
fore his untimely death : "Riddell, if I had one 
drop of liquor tonight I could not stop this side 
of hell. I have not touched the accursed stuff in 
fifteen years, but the demon still holds a death 
grip upon me. * * * No, I will not yield. I 
will fight it as long as I live, but I am on the 
brink of hell tonight." It was at the close of one 
of his most inspiring lectures, and for two hours 
we walked in the moonlight and I pleaded with 
him to give up the use of tobacco, go to the Hot 
Springs and take treatment and get the nicotine 
out of his system in order that his brain and 
nerves might become normal ; otherwise, at some 
unguarded moment I feared he might yield. He 
assured me he would never touch "the accursed 



a Demon. 



INTEMPERANCE. 323 

stuff," but insisted on continuing the use of 
tobacco. Two weeks from that time he was in Tobacco Fed 
Oakland, California, where he met some old com- 
rades of the 6o's. They, not knowing his weak- 
ness, tempted him ; he yielded. Once started, his 
own fears were realized. A few days later he 
was sent to his home in Washington, D. C, where 
he died of delirium tremens. 

A well-known Methodist preacher, who was 
recently silenced from preaching for drinking, 
told me a few days after his dismissal that as far 
back as he could remember he had had an inordi- 
nate appetite for liquor. "My father," said he, 
"was a habitual drunkard, and I know that the 
appetite is abnormal in me. I know what it is to A Minister's 
battle with the ordinary temptations of life, for I E*P ettence « 
have fought the battles common to all men; but 
this appetite is abnormal. Even when I have not 
tasted a drop in five years, this miserable demon 
continually craves liquor. Now, after twenty 
years of successful ministerial life, it has finally 
brought me to shame and made me a disgrace to 
the Church and the cause of Christianity." 

In the study of some two hundred families in 
which one or both parents used liquor or tobacco Ttic Appetite f 0f 
I found many cases in which the appetite for Narcotics Inborn, 
narcotics was unquestionably inborn. 

At T , Nebraska, a young lady consulted 

me about her appetite for tobacco. Her mother 

had used the weed habitually prior to her birth. Uses Tobacco. 7 

The young lady despised the filthiness of the 

habit and was fully cognizant of its injurious 

effects ; yet the appetite was so strong that, despite 

her "pride and abhorrence for the unladylike 



324 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

habit/' she seemed incapable of restraining her- 
self from its use. 

At W , Oregon, an elderly gentleman 

brought to me his little three-year-old grand- 
n-Sti^d daughter, whose appetite for liquor was so strong 

that she would cry and fret continually if she did 
not have it. When allowed her way she would 
drink until stupidly intoxicated and then sleep 
for ten or twelve hours, awakening only to call 
for more liquor. Both parents were habitual 
drunkards. 

At S , Illinois, a most excellent young lady 

called at the study with her mother requesting 
advice that might aid her in overcoming an ab- 
normal appetite for stimulants. She said that 
from the time she was a little girl she had been 
tormented by the constant temptation to use 
liquor. At times she could scarcely go by a saloon, 
the odor of liquor was so tempting to her. She 
assured me that but for the constant companion- 
! Soc^ U2 Ma sm P an d protecting care of her loving mother, 
she must have yielded to temptation and led a life 
of shame. After the young lady retired the 
mother informed me that her husband — whom 
the daughter greatly resembled — was a sporting 
man, a liquor dealer, who fortunately ran away 
and left her before the daughter was born. 

The hereditary effects of alcoholism are not 
always manifested in an appetite for strong drink. 
As indicated in the preceding quotation, the off- 
spring of alcoholics are often neurotic, epileptic, 
feeble-minded, or criminally disposed. Many thus 
afflicted have no abnormal appetite for strong 
drink. Moreover, owing to other hereditary and 



INTEMPERANCE. 325 

prenatal conditions, some seem to entirely escape 

all injurious effects. Again, the evil effects are Varied Effects of 
r . - . Alcoholism* 

often more pronounced in the second generation 

than in the first, so that those born of drunken 
parents, even though they live temperate lives, 
not infrequently parent children who early mani- 
fest either an abnormal appetite for stimulants or 
other morbid conditions. 

A New York family that I had occasion to 
study furnishes a fair illustration of the fore- 
going proposition. The father was a hard drinker 
and was more or less under the influence of liquor 
all the time; the mother was a very temperate, 
sweet and spiritually minded woman. They had 
seven children, two of whom died in spasms in 
infancy. The eldest son was a beautiful charac- 
ter, very much like his mother, clean, chaste and 
devout, but was subject to a periodical mania for The Children of 
drink that seemed almost irresistible, recurring a ***** Drinker. 
about once in three months. The second son 
drank but little, had no abnormal appetite for 
stimulants, but was coarse, worthless, selfish and 
sensual to an extreme. The third, a daughter, 
was silly, emotional, had an ungovernable tem- 
per and could not be trusted alone. The fourth, 
also a daughter, was highly nervous, exception- 
ally bright, pure-minded, well-behaved, and re- 
sembled in disposition and temperament the 
father's mother. The fifth was a son, who at the 
age of 9 was strong, steady, a good student, and 
up to that time had manifested no abnormalities. 
This boy was said to resemble his mother's father. 

What has just been said relative to chronic 
alcoholism is equally applicable to the influence 



326 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Morphine, 
Opium and 
Nicotine. 



Delerium 
Tremens. 



Tobacco 
Restricts the 
Mind. 



of other narcotics. Morphine, opium, and nico- 
tine are not less injurious than alcohol. Tobacco 
is fast becoming the rival of King Alcohol, both 
as an expensive luxury and as a demoralizing 
power. The consumption of tobacco per capita 
has more than doubled within a quarter of a cen- 
tury, while the reports from cigar manufacturers 
and tobacco dealers indicate the deplorable fact 
that its consumption, especially in the form of 
cigars and cigarettes, has increased faster during 
the last five years than in any previous period. 

Much of the poverty, physical degeneracy, men- 
tal inferiority, vice and crime attributed to alcohol 
is in part due to the effects of tobacco. Delirium 
tremens rarely if ever occurs in alcoholics who do 
not use tobacco; doubtless the same is true of 
many other morbid conditions observable among 
habitual drinkers. 

When used by the young, tobacco stunts the 
growth, paralyzes the nerve centers, tends to 
weaken the intellect and blunt the moral senti- 
ments. Seldom, if ever, has a student graduated 
with high honor from a reputable college who 
began using it in early life. 

The United States Military Academy at West 
Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis pro- 
hibited the use of tobacco by their students "be- 
cause repeated experiments proved that it weak- 
ened or deadened the mental powers." 

In order to maintain the standard of her stand- 
ing army Germany found it necessary to prohibit 
the use of tobacco by youths because very few of 
those who began its use in early life ever devel- 
oped to where they could pass a military exami- 
nation. 



INTEMPERANCE. 327 

Out of one hundred cigarette-smokers exam- 
ined in New York, 82 showed marked symptoms Cigarette 
of heart trouble and nervous affection. After 
two years of total abstinence all but 14 had out- 
grown it. 

As a rule tobacco and alcohol tend to destroy 
the equilibrium of the nervous system, weaken the Pathological 
digestive functions and induce kidney and heart 5? be 
disease. So marked are these effects that in the 
examination of over 2,000 men I have never 
found a normal heart action or regular pulse in a 
habitual tobacco user. 

It is estimated that fully 60,000 persons die 
annually in the United States from diseases 
caused directly by the use of tobacco. 

The hereditary effects of tobacco are not un- 
like those of chronic alcoholism. The tendency 
toward its use is transmitted from one genera- Hereditary 
tion to another; moreover, its evil effects are EJk cts °* 
frequently a potent factor in the production of 
other morbid conditions in offspring. Thousands 
of men who use the weed immoderately suffer 
from poor memory, lack of concentration, ina- 
bility to think, nervousness, abnormal passions or 
moral apathy. These acquired conditions are, 
to a greater or less extent, transmitted to off- 
spring. 

It is not too much to say that there are millions 
whose physical constitutions, mental and moral ci&dxen of 
powers have been greatly injured by the use of Tobacco Users. 
tobacco by their parents. It is true that hundreds 
of strong, able-bodied men and many of the 
brainiest men of the country use tobacco in some 
form, but all such would be better off without 



328 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

it. Rarely are the offspring of such men as strong 
physically or mentally as the father; in hundreds 
of observations made I have found not more than 
one in ten. 

The bad effects of tobacco are often much more 
apparent in the child than in the father. Even 
very strong, robust men who are heavy users of 
the weed frequently parent feeble, puny, nervous 
children. 

Whatever excuse or apology may be offered for 

the use of narcotics — whether liquors, opiates or 

tobacco — it is plainly apparent to every unbiased 

mind that they are highly injurious to the user, 

and that their effects are fully transmitted to the 

next generation. It has long been observed that 

Af , 4 , , in epidemics of cholera, dysentery, smallpox, etc., 
Alcoholics in , . . ..ii- 11 1 

Epidemics. drinkers are attacked in much larger numbers 

and with greater fatality than non-drinkers. It 
is also well known that the offspring of alcoholics, 
even though seemingly perfectly strong and 
healthy, are more susceptible to disease and more 
frequently die early than the offspring of non- 
drinkers. So well established is this fact that 
life insurance companies not only refuse to insure 
alcoholics, but consider inebriate parentage a very 
strong point against a risk even where the appli- 
cant is otherwise eligible. 

If the inebriate was the only one who suffered 
from his intemperance, we might be partly justi- 
The Disgrace of fled in allowing him to pursue his course of self- 
Intemperance* destruction unmolested; but he is not. Those 
who are compelled to live with him often suffer 
far more than he. The wife is disgraced, abused 
or debased, and the children not infrequently are 



INTEMPERANCE. 329 

compelled to steal or sell themselves to a life of 
shame, so that not only a miserable inheritance, 
but a disgraceful, demoralizing environment is 
their lot. 

The man who drinks liquor ought to be pro- 
hibited by law from marriage and parentage. Liquor Drinking 
He who inflames his brain, brutalizes his />as- a Crime » 
sions, and then becomes a father is a criminal, 
upon whom succeeding generations will pass sen- 
tence. 

In the presence of the facts observable on every 
hand I am amazed that all intelligent persons, as 
well as reformers, do not cry out against this 
curse. It is base inconsistency to recognize the 
respectable (?) liquor-user as a gentleman, then 
brand his wayward offspring — the product of his inconsistency, 
indulgences — as prostitutes and criminals. 

Any drinker acquainted with the laws of hered- 
ity, if he have a spark of manhood in him, should 
either give up his cup or abstain from becoming 
a parent. If he has not the moral courage to do ~ Ma Q ' s piain 
this of his own free will, then the law should 
compell him to, for it is no kindness to the inebri- 
ate to allow him to continue, and it is a crime 
against future generations. 

Among the visitors at the prison on Blackwell's 

Island I met a blear-eyed aristocrat who had been 

a respectable drinker from early manhood. He 

was there to visit his daughter, a prostitute and a 

convicted criminal. With tears flowing: down Sequel to a 

Father's 
his cheeks he said: "She is paying the penalty intemperance. 

for my indulgence." There are thousands of like 
cases. How much kinder it would have been to 
that man to have compelled him to live a sober, 



33° 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



temperate life? Are not those who voted to legal- 
ize the sale of intoxicants in part responsible for 
that girl's life of shame ? Let no man plead inno- 
cence of crime who votes to protect the saloon and 
the brothel. 

I am quite familiar with the doctrine of per- 
sonal liberty and fully appreciate its importance, 
but the rights of every man are circumscribed by 
Personal Liberty, the welfare of others. Whenever the individual 
indulges in that which is harmful to others he 
oversteps the bounds of personal liberty and be- 
comes a law-breaker. If there is no statutory law 
to restrain him there should be. Every man who 
uses alcoholic liquors indulges in that which is 
harmful to others, and therefore he should be pro- 
hibited by law from doing so. 

Every man is a part of the social organism. 
The health, happiness and moral tone of society is 
determined by the character of its individual mem- 
bers. No man's influence is limited to himself. It 
is frequently urged by those who never look be- 
yond the present generation, or reason above their 
appetites, that a man has a perfect right to drink 
liquor or leave it alone. That he should be al- 
lowed to drink if he chooses and take the conse- 
quences. That he has a perfect right to kill him- 
self if he wants to. Nothing could be more ab- 
surd. 

Drink liquor and take the consequences! He 
who drinks the liquor usually takes the least and 
the best of the consequences. If you would know 
the consequences of the social glass and the ef- 
fects of alcohol, look beyond the shattered nerves, 
red nose and bleared eyes of the indulger into 



The Social 
Organism. 



The Conse- 
quences of 
Drink. 



INTEMPERANCE. 331 

future generations; see the children born of a 
drunken father following in his footsteps. See 
his daughters in the houses of infamy and his sons 
in the chains of crime. Watch their descendants 
as they multiply imbecility, epilepsy, insanity and 
pauperism. See this stream of deformed human- 
ity as it grows wider and wider, trace it for only 
a few generations and it numbers thousands of 
dependents and delinquent mortals. Watch it as 
the centuries come and go; who can conceive of 
the final results ? The finite mind is dazed in the 
presence of this infinite problem. 

Drink and take the consequences! Wait until 
the evening bells of Time have ceased tolling and 
the morning bells of Eternity break the interven- 
ing silence with their clarion notes. Now, mount 
the great white throne, stand beside the Recording 
Angel, and as the unending day of eternity sweeps «, , , « 
on, observe the consequences. Watch that de- of the Nations* 
bauched, debased, distorted, deformed, pauper, 
idiotic, insane and criminal throng as it passes the 
Judge of the Nations to receive its reward. There 
where the deformed limp, where the feeble-mind- 
ed chuckle in silly mirth, where the epileptics froth 
in periodic fits, where the insane rave with mad- 
ness, where drunkards stand face to face with 
heaven's gate, and see those awful words, flash- 
ing from flaming swords, "No drunkard shall 
enter the kingdom of heaven !" There where 
prostitutes are cursing the mothers that gave 
them birth and hardened criminals stand shud- 
dering on the crumbling cliff that o'erhangs the 
dark Valley of Death and Despair; there where 
family ties are being severed forever and loved 



332 THE "ABNORMAL MAN. 

ones are parting to meet no more; there where 
heart-broken mothers, choking with sobs, plead 
against fate; there where cruel Justice, blinding her 
eyes, closes the Day of Probation and places the 
Seal of Death upon every impenitent soul; there 
where angels weep and the pitying, pleading 
Christ begs to drink once more the Cup of Death 
and endure the passion of Golgotha's cross that 
erring man may be forgiven ; there, in scenes like 
these, reckon the consequences of the social glass 
and settle the plea for i( personal liberty!" . . ,. . 



CHAPTER XXII. 

HEREDITY AND THE DOUBLE STANDARD. 

Nature and law are always consistent. What- 
ever is inconsistent is abnormal. The 'social 
ethics which fosters in man what it condemns in 
woman is wholly inconsistent and therefore ab- Abno rmal 
normal. The conditions which give rise to the 
double standard are as truly the product of dissi- 
pation as are those that produce drunkenness, vice 
and crime. The double standard is most demor- 
alizing. As a factor in obstructing human prog- 
ress, in perverting man's nobler instincts, in de- 
stroying domestic happiness, in filling the world 
with misery and in robbing offspring of a good 
inheritance, it has no equal. 

According to the evolution theory of man's 
origin, the double standard simply indicates a 
lack of development. Man has not yet outgrown 
the animal. Chastity, like all the nobler virtues, 
had an humble origin. Looking back to the age 
of savagery, woman was the possession of man ; DouWeStandard. 
she was bought and sold, or "swapped" like other 
chattels. The value of a man's daughters de- 
pended largely upon their purity. Later on when 
the contracting parties were allowed to make their 
own matrimonial choice, the same law was ob- 
served. 

Both sacred and profane history indicate that 



334 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Woman's 
Crowning 
Virtue. 



"Keep Thyself 
Pure," 



The Command 
of God* 



chastity was considered from the very dawn of 
civilization woman's crowning virtue, and her 
fall the unpardonable sin. Man, being the pos- 
sessor, rather than the possessed, was not sub- 
jected to the same law, and therefore his pro- 
pensities and appetites were allowed to remain 
controlling factors in his character. The chasten- 
ing rod that fell heavily upon woman and 
scourged her for sinning to such an extent as 
to be a warning to all others, was unfortunately 
not applied to man. Thus in due course of time 
the basis of our present double standard was es- 
tablished. 

When man became sufficiently developed in his 
nobler instincts that the purest and wisest were 
able to receive the truth, Infinite wisdom and 
eternal justice condemned licentiousness in man, 
extolled virtue in woman, and demanded a like 
conduct and chasity of all. Throughout the cen- 
turies that have come and gone, whoever has been 
able to silence the murmurings of propensity suffi- 
ciently to catch the voice of God, has heard the 
command, "Keep thyself pure!" 

When Moses left his people and climbed Mt. 
Sinai above the clouds to talk with God he re- 
turned with "Thou shalt not commit adultery" 
plainly written on the imperishable tablets of his 
conscience. Whoever has left the Valley of Pro- 
pensities and ascended the Mountain of Justice, 
to a point above the Clouds of Prejudice, and 
there talked with God, has received a like mes- 
sage. 

The Mosaic law was interpreted to mean con- 
duct only; but when the Son of God, who knew 



THE DOUBLE STANDARD. 335 

the will of the Father and the law of the soul, 

interpreted this command, it came to mean not 

merely conduct, but character. "He that looketh 

upon a woman to lust after her, hath already com- fJP**% Lifc 

mitted adultery." Out of the law of Moses and 

its spiritual interpretation by Christ has grown 

the true ideal of a single standard, "a white life 

for two." 

The moral integrity required of woman has 
proved most beneficial to the race. The same 
should be demanded of man. He who claims Man's Unjust 
privileges of dissipation that he would not grant 
to his sister, is not only unjust but perverted. 
The public sentiment that sustains his position 
must be changed if man is to realize his higher 
possibilities. 

The evils of the double standard permeate all 
society. It is impossible to estimate its influence 
upon morals and conduct. It has become so estab- 
lished as to bias our thinking. Even the best 
of men and women hold consciously, or subcon- 
sciously, two sets of morals. Why should a 
young man be considered a gentleman whose 
habits are such that if practiced by a woman Two Codes of 
they would make her an outcast ? Why should it 
be thought proper for men of high social and 
political standing to daily enter the bar-room and 
fraternize with those with whom no lady could 
associate without being condemned as a bad 
woman? Why should a man who tells smutty 
stories and is given to vulgarity be considered a 
gentleman by men and women who would scorn 
the woman who would defile her lips with such 
language? Why condemn an erring girl, but 



;36 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Society's Biased 
Verdict. 



The Double 

Standard 

Reversed* 



An Untenable 
Proposition* 



excuse a man guilty of a greater sin? Why in- 
vite into our homes, our fraternal societies and 
our churches the prodigal son who seeks to re- 
turn, and then close the door against the wayward 
daughter? Why should Christian men and 
women give their support, social and political, to 
men whose habits of life are such as would com- 
pletely ruin any woman and make it impossible 
for her to command the respect of decent people ? 
Why should we, a Christian nation, longer tol- 
erate this monster of the dark ages? 

Men would not allow a reversal of the double 
standard. No self-respecting man would seek 
the company of young ladies who were defiled 
by narcotics and the associations of the bar-room. 
What man would accept as a wife one who had 
known the dissipations common to many men 
who deem themselves fit candidates for marriage ? 
Who would have as the mother of his children a 
reformed woman of the world? Men argue that 
promiscuous associations in early life make them 
better husbands, but where is there a man that 
would favor his wife having a similar training? 
Think of a woman brutalized by rum, steeped in 
narcotics, who spends her evenings in places of 
vice running for office and being elected by the 
franchise of respectable citizens ! How untenable 
are these propositions ! Why ? Solely because of 
the double standard in our minds. These intol- 
erable conditions would be no worse for women 
than they are for men. Were they true, what 
then would become of the home, society and the 
state? But for the temperance and purity of 
womanhood, our civilization and all it affords 



THE DOUBLE STANDARD. 337 

would be impossible. A like temperance and 
purity on the part of manhood would give us a 
civilization as far superior to the present one as 
ours is superior to the dark ages. 

A single standard is the crying need of the 
hour. Its enforcement and its upbuilding in pub- 
lic sentiment lies at the foundation of all reform. 

Young men can never be induced to live pure T Qe Crying 
,. 1 i-ii Need of the 

lives, nor young women be protected, until theHoun 

law of chastity is made equally binding upon both. 
Young men will not abstain from smoking and 
drinking as long as these things are deemed re- 
spectable when indulged in by a gentleman. The 
saloon and the brothel, together with the poverty, 
the pauperism, the epilepsy, the feeble-minded- 
ness, the insanity and the crime they cause will 
continue as long as public sentiment is dominated 
by the double standard. 

The double standard will yet be outgrown. No 
self-respecting man can afford to live beneath the 
ideal he holds for woman. Everywhere I go I 
find hundreds of noble men struggling to rise 
above the dictates of the propensities that they 
may enjoy the larger life and liberty which come Obey More to 
to a man when he feels that he is master of him- ^°y Morc » 
self. My thought is that the day is not far dis- 
tant when the mass of men will learn to obey 
more, that they may enjoy more. The time is 
soon coming when a man guilty of acts for which 
a woman would be condemned, will be ostracized 
from society. 

It would seem that woman is to be the principal 
factor in establishing the single standard. As 
God saw fit to use woman to bear His Son to the 



33& 



THE "ABNORMAL MAN. 



Chivalry is not 
Dead. 



Love, the Great 
Reformer* 



Inspiration of a 
Pure Life* 



world, so I believe that the woman of the twen- 
tieth century will bear to all men the ideal which 
was exemplified in the life of Christ, and to in- 
spire them to become the realization of this ideal. 
Chivalry is not dead. Love is the most potent 
factor in determining the character of the sexes. 
Man's ideal becomes realized in woman, and as 
isoon as woman becomes firmly pronounced in her 
ideal she will determine the character of the 
coming man. 

Conformativeness in woman is a virtue. A girl 
does not like to rebel against the habits of her 
sweetheart, yet if she did but know it, a kind, 
firm stand taken against all vices, including those 
of her lover, would do much to excite his ad- 
miration and call out his better nature. So long 
as young ladies will greet lips that are tainted 
with tobacco or liquor, the dissipated young man 
will have no occasion to change his habits. When 
young women are ready to say, "The lips that 
touch liquor shall never touch mine," then, and 
not until then, will young men abstain from the 
use of narcotics. 

When he who profers favors that cannot be 
granted within the bounds of propriety is branded 
as a villain, then will young men learn to respect 
purity in themselves. When young women are 
ready to say, "We would rather make the journey 
of life alone in gladdening the hearts of others 
than accept as a husband one who has defiled 
himself by promiscuous associations"; then will 
young men seek to protect their good name, cul- 
tivate purity of thought and gradually, but surely, 
become the ideal of their loved ones. 



THE DOUBLE STANDARD. 339 

The greatest crime of American womanhood 
is allowing and even fostering in men habits of 
life and conduct that neither she nor her brother Woman's Great 
would tolerate in a woman. Men may be actuated 
by selfish motives in demanding a pure, temper- 
ate life of women; women may be impelled by 
the sense of kindness and forebearance in tolerat- 
ing intemperance and vice in men ; but man's sel- 
fishness here becomes a blessing; woman's kind- 
ness becomes a curse. 

Marriage and parentage are both greatly influ- 
enced by the double standard. It makes possible 
the marriage of men who are wholly unfit to be- 
come husbands or fathers. The statement some- Reformed Men 
times heard that reformed rakes make the best of as us ^ ** 
husbands is a libel upon manhood. It is abso- 
lutely false. Every psychologist knows that the 
brain centers and nerve paths formed by early 
dissipation will for a time at least largely control 
the conduct of the man and impell him to dese- 
crate the sanctity of marriage. 

It is true that many perverted men have in 
course of time become good husbands; it is 
equally true there are many erring women who The Union of 
would make excellent wives, yet they are not c cfve 
sought by respectable men. Such a union would 
be no more improper, however, than for the re- 
spectable woman to marry the perverted man. 
If dissipated men and women do sometimes be- 
come excellent companions, it is not because of 
their dissipation, but in spite of it. 

Children born from reformed men usually in- 
herit the effects of their father's previous dissi- 
pation. History affords many striking examples 



340 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



Children of 
Reformed Men. 



Martial Ethics 
Demoralizing* 



Curse of 
Civilization* 



of this fact, and almost every community has its 
own illustrations. A most excellent Christian 
gentleman, who had been "one of the boys" in 
his time, on being called upon to pay a bill of 
$500 for his son, or stand suit by the wronged 
girl, quietly paid the bill without complaining, 
but remarked to an old-time friend, "The young 
rascal is making me pay for my early experiences. 
He is a bad boy, but I guess he came honestly by 
it. I had hoped that the goodness of his mother 
would have counteracted these influences/' 

The present ethics of marriage which is backed 
by law, and which compels woman to sub- 
mit herself to her husband, is in part an out- 
growth of the double standard. No custom is 
more demoralizing, no law is more unjust, in- 
human or unworthy of our age. The dictionary 
does not contain words enough to depict the evils 
that arise from it or my contempt for it. It robs 
love of its freedom, marriage of its sanctity, and 
parentage of its holy purpose. It produces do- 
mestic infelicity, destroys the independence of 
the wife, takes the bloom of health from her 
cheek, the sparkle of youth from her eye, and 
converts the lover's dream into a nightmare of 
suffering. 

Enslaved motherhood is the curse of civiliza- 
tion, the monster of Christendom; through its 
physiological and psychological influences thou- 
sands of children are unfortunately bom. 

The present ethics of marriage need reforming. 
They must be changed if man is ever to become 
normal in the procreative instinct. Neither na- 
ture nor nature's God license the abuse of the 



THE DOUBLE STANDARD, 341 

generative function. Only perverted instinct and 
perverted custom make it a privilege of mar- 
riage. The law of chastity, so indispensable to TheLicense of 
health and moral purity in single life, is quite as ^^ 

applicable and would prove fully as beneficial to 
the married. That which is vice in single life 
cannot be made virtue by a marriage certificate. 

Acquired characters are transmitted. Those 
qualities which parents exercise most, other things 
being equal, determine the hereditary tendencies A Fact for 
of their offspring. The children of artists learn cJJSifcfw* 
art more readily than do the children of the in- 
artistic. The same is true of all acquired ten- 
dencies, whether normal or abnormal; therefore, 
it must be apparent to all thoughtful persons that 
the habitual excitation of the procreative function 
in parents must predispose their offspring to 
sexual dissipation. 

The question of marital rights is not to be con- 
sidered. Custom is not law. Licensing a wrong 
does not make it right. Nature never licenses 
dissipation, neither will she withhold punishment 
from those who break her laws, even though 
their acts are sanctioned by custom. The evil Custom is not 
effects of intemperance are fully transmitted, no 1 *^* 
matter whether the intemperance is practiced 
under the license of marriage or out of it. It 
matters not how a character is acquired, if it be- 
comes an established psycho-physical condition 
it will be transmitted. Thoughtful parents will 
abstain from that which they do not care to have 
manifest in the character of their children. 

I am aware that in advocating the law of chas- 
tity for the married that I will incur the opposi- 



342 



THE ABNORMAL MAN. 



The Law of 

Chastity is Right. 



Temperance 

Increases 

Happiness. 



Preaching and 
Practising. 



tion of many. I have frequently been severely 
criticised for taking this position. I have been 
called a dreamer, an idealist, and even a fanatic. 
No matter! I am right, and this justifies my 
position, even though it were not supported by 
another man. One man in the right is a ma- 
jority. 

I know human nature. I have made a very 
careful study of the problem of marital rights. I 
fully realize that the present population of the 
earth is made up largely of men and women, and 
not angels. I know that in the present perverted 
state of the race there are many who are not able 
to live up to the true ideal, but the nearer the 
married live to the law of chastity and restrict 
their associations to that of lovers, the happier 
will be their lives and the better it will be for their 
offspring. 

Fortunately, I am not alone in advocating the 
law of chastity for the married. There are many 
strong, vigorous men and thousands of queenly 
women who take a like position, and out of self- 
respect and the love of purity, live in accordance 
with their own ideals. No man has a right to 
preach what he lacks the moral courage to prac- 
tice. What base inconsistency for parents who 
have never learned the lesson of self-control to 
ask their children to live pure, temperate lives. 
What a beautiful thing it is when young people 
can look into the face of their parents and see 
chastity written there! When both father and 
mother can say to the son and daughter, "Live 
as I live. Follow me!" 

There are many families who are living on 



THE DOUBLE STANDARD. 343 

the higher plane of their affections, realizing in 
their domestic relations the fond dreams of youth. 

Self-restraint has become a pleasure, chastity aT^P ?** 

Civilization. 
conscious joy, love a holy bond and parentage a 

sacred privilege. Children born from parents like 
these usually have a good inheritance; the vigor 
of youth blooms upon their cheek without the 
blight of vice, and the beauty of unperverted na- 
ture is reflected in their eyes. Families like these 
are the prophecy of the coming civilization. 

"The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few." 
Before closing these pages permit me, gentle 
reader, to extend to you a personal invitation to 
join me in my humble efforts to disseminate the^ p - 
truths contained herein. Whatever may be your Invitation, 
position in life, there you have an influence. Will 
you use it to make men free? To my mind the 
outlook is glorious with possibilities. With psy- 
chology practically applied in prenatal and post- 
natal development, how rapid should be the evolu- 
tion of the race! When every child born is a 
child of light, how effectual must be the influ- 
ence of education and religion! When vice has 
been supplanted by virtue, how beautiful must 
be the domestic relations and how sacred the 
privilege of parentage! Come with me in this 
labor of love. Let us go forth as heralds of the 
truth, until the saloon and the brothel with all Comc mth **** 
their defiling influences are a thing of the past. 
Let us proclaim the truth until the word, "Equal- 
ity," is written across our flag, that the stars and 
stripes may in loyalty wave o'er a land that is 
free, without a woman enslaved. Let us teach 
the better way and struggle for the higher life 



344 THE ABNORMAL MAN. 

until love rules in every home; honor is written 
on every brow ; kindness beams from every eye ; 
chastity blooms on every cheek; purity bubbles 
from every lip ; joy springs from every heart, and 
Christ reigns in every soul. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Abnormal Social Ethics 333 

Abnormal Impressions, Law of. 251 

Frequency of . 254 

Abnormalities, Prevention of . . . 261 

Outgrown 264 

Acquired Characters Trans- 
mitted 151 

of Animals 153 

Acquisitiveness 184, 185, 231 

Adaptation, Potency of 105 

Law of 107 

Basis of 109 

Law of Sex 115 

To Improve 167 

Adaptability, Degrees of 108 

Discernment of 116 

Aesthetic Faculties 238 

Ages, the Study of 23 

Ailments Peculiar to Winter. . . . 172 

Alcohol as King 310 

and Poverty 311 

and Race Degeneracy 318 

and Prostitution 320 

and Insanity 278 

vs. Heredity 281 

Alcoholism, Cause of 310 

Varied effects of 325 

Alcoholics, Defective Offspring.. 319 

Children of 325 

in Epidemics 328 

Allen, Mr. Grant 157 

American, The Future 300 

Anarchy and Nihilism 305 

Anarchist Ling 305 

Animal Propensities 230 

Appetite for Narcotics Inborn. . . 323 

Appetites and Longings 230 

Aristotle's Studies 24 

Art and Music, Training for. . . . 192 

Aspiring Sentiments 241 

Atavism Defined 143 

in Natural History 143 

Pathological 144 

the Fact of 144 

Pepper's Observations on 144 

Causes of 145 

Through Dual Parentage 146 



PAGE 

and Genius 148 

and Variations 149 

Authorities Consulted 7-8 

Bach Family 29 

Baldwin 53 

Barker, Dr 215 

Barnes 265 

Bayer 216, 251 

Basal Tendencies Inborn 40 

Besant, Anna 308 

Beech, Dr. Fletcher 318 

Bicknell, Earnest 273 

Biological Speculation 84 

Birth Marks 251 

Fact of 252 

Physical Evidences of 252 

Described 255-258 

Scientist's Opinion of 254 

Bisexual Parentage , 91 

Blood Is the Life 170 

Born Preachers 246 

Dullards 193 

Station Agent 154 

Born Tired 299 

Boy Preacher 246 

Boy's Ambition 184 

Brain Limits the Man 70 

the Mind 66 

Building, Law of 73 

Reforming the 72 

Tracks, DeMotte 71 

Depleted by Overwork 299 

Bradford 94 

Brower 283 

Brush 270 

Burrows 282 

Business Trickery 185 

Care, The Burden of 198 

Cell, The Primordial 86 

The Soul of 86 

The Germ 89 

Cause of Crime 284 

Chandler, Dr 292 

Character Building 70 

Force of 183 

Prefixing the 78 

Strengthening the 189 



346 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Chastity, a Demand of Maternity 222 

Is Right 342 

Child of Light 20 

of Joy 244 

Life, Variations in 28 

A Well Born 177 

A Mathematical 234 

A Tokology 159 

A Drunkard 324 

Children of Light 204 

Worldly 248 

Few Are Well Born 33 

Unaffectionate 187 

Government of 73 

Mentality of 28 

Superior to Their Parents. . . . 134 

of Blind Chance 157 

Superior to Parents 162 

Bashful 233 

Stupid 238 

Born Tired 299 

of Drinkers 319 

of Erring Women 321 

of Hard Drinkers 325 

of Reformed Men 340 

of Tobacco Users 327 

Christian Science 46 

Christians, Nominal 247 

Christianity Defined 248 

Christenson, Sanderson 279 

Chivalry Is Not Dead >. 338 

Chromatin 88 

Class Distinction 304 

Cleanliness 174 

Cody, "Buffalo Bill" 218 

Colored Criminal 306 

Commercial Bondage 307 

Commercialism Begets Selfish- 
ness 299 

Combinations, Unfavorable .... 180 

Commercialism and Vice 308 

Confession of a Mother 290 

Conscience, To Cultivate 199 

Consciousness Explained 65 

Controlling the Appetites 75 

Contradictory Feelings Explained 131 

Continence 223 

Corset, The 222 

Counterfeiters, Family of 303 

Courage and Energy 230 

Courteousness 185 

Cowan 49, 152, 158, 211, 223 

Creative Principle 176 

Crime, Causes of 284 

in Europe 269 

in the United States 270, 280 

in New York City 279 



PAGE 

Increase of 279 

Born to 286 

by the Well Born 284 

of Christendom 294 

An Appalling 275 

and Poverty 308 

of Liquor Drinking 329 

Inevitable 293 

Criminal Class 285 

The Formation of the 139 

Heredity, Statistics on 31 

Where Born 307 

Colored 306 

from Maternal Impressions . . . 289 

The Occasional 284 

A Mother Made 289 

Insanity 277 

Medication 275 

Abortion 286-295 

Criminals Heredity 283 

Born of Good Families 286 

Foreign 280 

from Attempted Abortion .... 287 

Few Are Blameless „ 43 

Religious Training of 271 

Culture, Effects of 194 

Custom Is Not Law 341 

Dabney 251 

Darwin 152, 317 

on Reversion to Type 143 

Darwin's Theory 85 

Data from Personal Observations 21 

Daughter of a Sporting Man. . . 324 

Deception in Business 302 

Degeneracy 123 

Degenerates, Increase of 269 

Delirium Tremens 326 

Demme 320 

Depravity 223 

Dietetics 168 

Digestive Function, To Strength- 
en 169 

Disease Germs 172 

Divine Justice 45 

Divinity Is Here 50 

Domestic Harmony 186 

Dormant Powers Not Trans- 
mitted 240 

Double Standard, Origin of 333 

Reversed 336 

Outgrown 337 

Dress 175 

Drink, Consequences of 330 

and the Labor Problem 316 

Drummond, Dr 220 

Dual Parentage and Evolution. . 135 

and Variety 140 

Dugdale 283 



INDEX. 



347 



PAGH 

Dyspeptics 168 

Edison, Resemblance to 240 

Education and Crime 270, 271 

Eloquence, Secret of 126 

Erring Girls, Statistics on 320 

Esquirol 282 

Eternal Youth, Secret of ... 125 

Evolution 84 

Evolutionary, Heredity 215 

Exercise, Importance of 173 

Experiences, Mother's 199 

of a Minister. 323 

Experimental Psychology 265 

Fact of Supreme Importance . . 76 

for Parents 341 

Factors Are All Potential 37 

Each an Unknown Quantity.. 100 

of Heredity Defined 97-99 

in Opposition 100 

Differ in Strength 101 

Remote 103 

Factors, Opposing 247 

Faith a Dynamic Power 203 

Faith in Nature's God 261 

Fairfield and Osborn 253 

Family Traits, The Blending of. 137 

Resemblances, The Law of . . . 141 

Traits Reappear 145 

Fathers Brutalized by Liquor . . . 320 

Experiment 267 

False Basis of Reckoning 39 

Feeble Minded and Insane .... 270 

Feeble Minded Families 274 

Mindedness, Causes of 273-275 

Ferri, Mr 308 

Fearn's Opinion 252 

Financiering Instinct 184 

Fixed vs. Acquired Characters.. 101 

Fleming and Dumaux 207 

Forgery, A Father's 186 

Food, What to Eat 170 

Formative Period 228 

Foreign Criminals 280 

Fowler 153, 208, 217, 251 

Freedom of the Will 44 

for All 79 

Galton 29, 55, 86 

Gambling Instinct, The 303 

Inborn 304 

Gardener, Helen 222 

Gates 61 

Genius, The Law of 182 

Is Abnormal 181 

Is Heredity 29 

Reappearance of 146 

Special 239 

No Short Cuts to 263 

What Constitutes a 300 



PAGE 

A Born 138 

of the Future American 300 

Generation, Education and Re- 
generation 38 

Birth and Regeneration 205 

Germ-Plasm 89, 90 

Gold May Rule to Ruin 301 

Gray Matter 67 

Great Men Believe in God 202 

Grenier 318 

Griesinger 282 

Guy, Dr. William A 278 

Habits of a Father 174 

Halleck 52 

Hebrew, Character of the 101 

Herron, Rev. George D 219 

Heredity Is a Science 20 

Fact of 22 

in Sacred History 23 

Applied in Rome 24 

Modern Students of 25 

in Plant and Animal Life. ... 31 

Morbid 30, 31, 273-278 

the Scape-Goat of Crime 36 

an Unknown Quantity 36 

and Moral Responsibility 40-45 

of Mrs. Eddy 46 

a Proper Study 49 

The Physical Basis of 85 

The Theory of 91 

Defined 94 

Laws of 95 

Opposing Principles of 95 

The Gift of 97 

The Factors of 97-99 

No Exceptions to the Law .... 102 

Intermittent 147 

Popularized 162 

of an Inventor 191 

Fixed Factors of 229 

vs. Environment 27, 236 

vs. Postnatal Influences..... 271 

and Feeble Mindedness 273 

and Commercialism 295 

and Intemperance 310 

and the Double Standard 333 

Hereditary Genius 29 

Tendencies Controlled 44 

Insanity 31, 277 

Suicidal Tendencies 281 

Effects of Tobacco 327 

Criminals 283 

Criminal Class 285 

Criminals, Increase of 285 

Prostitution 321 

High Ideals, Power of 189 

Holdbrook 152 

Holy Spirit in Soul Growth 79 



348 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Holmes 157 

Homicide 280 

Hope and Gladness 197 

Honest Men Wanted 198 

Honesty Inborn 198 

How to Choose Aright 132 

Hunter, D. D 122 

Hygienic Living 221 

Hypnotic Control 265 

Demonstrated 76 

Hypnotism Practically Applied.. 266 

Dangers of 266 

Prenatally Applied 267 

Idleness, Dangers of 174 

Idiotic and Epileptic 272 

Ignorance, Fetters of 69 

Illiteracy Among Criminals.... 271 
Immanent God and Evolution.. 83 

Impressions from Pictures 240 

Vicious 237 

Susceptibility to 260 

Control of 262 

Inborn vs. Acquired Traits 38 

Inebriety Transmitted 318, 322 

Infant Mortality 224 

Infanticide 292-295 

Inharmony, Effects on Offspring. 106 

Initial Impressions 205-207 

Power of 208 

Inception 207 

Insanity, Origin of 276 

Increase of 276 

Hereditary 277 

and Alcohol 278 

Criminal 30-31, 277 

of Families 277 

Intemperance and Crime 317 

and Poverty 316 

Intellectual Tendencies 233 

Inventive Genius 190 

Power to Increase 190 

Invitation to the Reader 343 

Ishmael 24 

Ishmael, Family of 282 

James, Prof 52, 57 

Japp, Prof 83 

Jordan, Dr. David Starr... 135, 253 

Jukes, The 30, 321 

Jurke, Frau Ada 282 

Juvenile Offenders 236, 285 

Kings and Queens of Society . . . 122 

Kindness, Virtue of 200 

to Cultivate 201 

A Husband's 186 

Ladd, Prof 52, 55 

Laughter, Effects of 196 

Law of Denial 80 

of Compliments 112 



PAGE 

of Sex Adaptation 115 

of Family Resemblances 141 

Liberty, Struggle for 69 

Life Is a Mystery 82 

The Phenomena of 83 

Inheres in the Soul 85 

How Reproduced 87 

The Creative Principle of 120 

The Inception of 209 

Light, The Power of 17 

of Science 18 

Like Excites Like 182 

Liquor Traffic, Cost of 312 

Drinking a Crime 329 

Literature, Bad 235 / 

Living Protoplasm 82 

Lodging a Suggestion 259 

Lombroso's Studies 29 

Lombroso 181, 218, 277, 285 

Love, Power of 213 

Love the Great Reformer 338 

Begets Its Own 248 

and Confidence 213 

Demonstration of 131 

Parental 187 

vs. Magnetic Attraction 129 

Rules the Life 129 

of Men and Women Differ .... 128 

Nature and Duality of 128 

Love's Mismatches 113 

Language 117 

Lungs, The Development of 172 

Lying, a Family Trait 199 

Magnetic Relations of Planets.. 104 

Magnetism Defined 125 

Voluntary and Involuntary . . 125 

and Character 126 

and Eloquence 126 

Personal 127 

and Matrimony 129 

Mammon Worship 295 

Man, Study of 19 

a Product of Blind Chance ... 32 

the Product of Centuries 36 

The Study of 60 

a Psychic Organism 60 

an Epitome of the Race .... 96 

Man's Ability to Do Right 42 

Unjust Demand 335 

Manhood and Womanhood, De- 
velopment of 122 

Mania for Suicide 282 

Marital Ethics 340 

No Law Applicable to All .... 110 

a License 341 

Marcier 30 

Married, but Not Mated Ill 

Marro 30 



INDEX. 



349 



PAGE 

Masculine Women and Feminine 

Men 116 

Maternal Impressions, Law of. . 215 

Opinions of Authorities 215 

Objection to 220 

Effects of Honesty 231 

Explained 258 

Bad 286 

Maternity a Queenly Mission . . . 242 

Undesired 289 

Maudsley 31, 106 

McCulloch 282 

Mclntyre, Dr. Robert 120 

Mechanical Ingenuity 189 

Memory of Names Exceptional. 161 

Defined, Recollection 194 

Culture, Systems of 195 

Rules for Strengthening 195 

Specific 196 

Mental Conditions Desirable .... 214 

Activity 234 

Mentality in Children 28 

Metaphysics 53 

Mercier, Views of 27 

Mind, Duality of 58 

Is Not Soul 66 

a Limited Quantity 300 

Modus Operandi of 67 

Minds, Objective and Subjective 

58, 66 

Minister's Sons 247 

Mirthfulness, Importance of . . . . 243 

Moral Sentiments 245 

Money and Matrimony 306 

Morbid Heredity 30, 31, 273-278 

Conditions, Combining of.... 137 

Morrison 27 

Morphine, Opium and Nicotine.. 326 

Mother's Preparation, A 175 

Purity of 224 

Motherhood Enslaved 224 

Possibilities of 268 

Mother-Made Criminal 289 

Mutual Preparation 165 

Napoleon 218 

Narcotics 275 

and Feeble Mindedness 275 

Annual Cost of 311, 312 

Nations, Judgment Day of 294 

Before the Judge of 331 

Nationalities, Formation of.... 136 
Nature Maintains the Normal . . . 264 
Natures that Do Not Blend. 119, 140 
Nerve Action Determines Sensa- 
tion 56 

Newton, Sir Isaac 177 

A Descendant of 148 

Newton, A. E 152 



pag e 

on Prenatal Culture 216 

Nutrition, Importance of 167 

Objects in View 20 

Objections, Why Raised 35 

Occult Powers 59 

Offspring Affected by Inharmony 106 

of Thieves 302 

of Alcoholics 319 

Opposing Evil Tendencies 180 

Influences 262 

Orator, A Born 160 

Ordained from Birth 245 

Organic Quality 118 

Originality, Improvement of 191 

Overwork, Results from 183 

Parents, Relative Influence of. . 141 

Mental Preparation of 179 

Overworked 298 

of Criminals 317 

Parental Responsibility 48 

Duty 157 

Love 187 

Parker, Judge J. C 281 

Parricide, A Would-Be 288 

Patriots 225 

Peculiarities Are Inborn 26 

Pelman, Prof 282/ 

Penta 30 

Perceptive Faculties 192, 233 

Power to Cultivate 192 

Perfect Union, The 132 

Personal Liberty 330 

Phrenology 54 

Philosophy of Gall 54 

Physiological Psychology 55 

Facts of 56 

Limitations of 57 

Physical Culture 175 

Effects of 155 

Basis of Memory 57 

Vigor 211 

Planetary Influences 103 

Plato's Plan 25 

Poverty a Disgrace 297 

and Crime 308 

and Heredity 315 

and Intemperance 316 

Powers, Most Active Control .... 248 

Pratt, Prof. B. F 209 

Preaching and Practicing 342 

Prenatal Culture, Studies in ... . 22 

Applied 159 

Possibilities of 164 

vs. Postnatal Training 33 

Plus Postnatal Influences.... 37 

Training, Time Required 166 

Education 220 

Training, Order of 221 



35o 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Individuality 260 

Murders, Number of 292 

Influences Ignored 157 

Prison Reports 271 

Prodigy, A Musical 160 

Prophecy 59 

Psychic Power 258 

Psychic Nature of Man 60 

Psychology, The New 57 

The Future 59 

Experimental Stage of 56 

Experimental 265 

Defined 53 

Purity, God's Command 334 

Qualities, Weak Overcome 239 

Races, Combination of 136 

Raphael's Madonna 226 

Reading 235 

Novel 235-236 

for Prenatal Culture 237 

Reason, Intuition and Imagina- 
tion 243 

Reformed Men as Husbands . . . 339 

Reform, True Basis of 33 

Religious Training of Prisoners. 271 
Reproduction, A Simple Expla- 
nation 88 

Evades Analysis 84 

in Man 90 

Resemblance to the Unrelated... 267 

Respiration 170 

Responsibility of Criminals 42 

Restraining Evil Tendencies.... 74 

Reverence and Faith 202 

Ribot 31, 94 

Right to Acquire, The 297 

Rokitansky 215 

Saved by Inexorable Law 80 

Science and Tradition 124 

Hope of 268 

Scientific Evidences of the Soul. 61 

Scientist, The True 254 

Self-Control, Secret of 78 

Necessity of 261 

Self-Examination 165 

Self-Respect and Ambition 188 

Selfishness 185 

Begets Dishonesty 301 

Sensitiveness 242 

Sequel to a Father's Intemper- 
ance 329 

Serpent, The Old 123 

Sex Potency 120 

Mystery of 120 

the Creative Principle of Life. 120 

and Degeneracy 123 

Potency and Heredity 133 

Shop Girls 309 



PAG E 

Short Cuts in Nature 229 

Sichard 30 

Silent Forces Rule the World. . . 126 

Silent Suggestion 266 

Silence, In the 249 

Single Standard Required 337 

Smiles vs. Frowns 244 

Social Dissipation 176 

Feelings 232 

Evils, Relative Influence of. . . 272 

Organism, The 330 

Ethics, Abnormal 333 

Society's Biased Verdict 335 

Solar System, The 104 

Sons of Great Men 133 ' 

Soul, Evidences of 61-64 

Evades Analysis 65 

Building 75-79, 119-203, 249 

Growth, Law of 77 

Growth, Sequel of 79 

Harmony, Basis of 117 

Harmony, Power of 117 

Vibrations 118 

Freedom of 261 

Souls, What Separates 130 

Sowing Wild Oats 71 

Spencer 83, 157 

Spermatozoa 210 

Spiritual Preparation 214 

Growth 249 

Statistics on Morbid Heredity.. 

30-31, 283 

Infanticide 292 

Hereditary Genius 29 

Crime 30-31, 270, 279-283 

Idiotic and Epileptic 272 

Feeble Mindedness 273-275 

Abortion 275, 292 

Hereditary Insanity 276-278 

Suicide 280-283 

Homicide 279-280 

Foreign Criminals 280 

Criminals' Families 282-283 

Poverty and Crime 308 

Liquor TraflSc 312-317 

Drink and the Labor Problem. 316 
Intemperance and Crime. ..317-321 

Drink and Prostitution 320-321 

Stiripiculture 161 

Stockham, Dr. 207, 222, 293 

Strahan 281 

Struggle with a Demon 322 

Subjective Perception 58 

Memory 59 

Suggestion, The Potency of 77 

How to Lodge a 77, 259 

Silent 266 

Suggestions, Repeated, Effectual. 260 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Prenatal ... 262 

Susceptibility to 260 

Suicide 280-281 

Suicidal Tendencies 288 

Supreme Moment 206 

Surroundings, Influence of 225 

Susceptibility, Periods of Great- 
est 260 

Sweat Shops, Scene in 309 

Taking Cold 171 

Talcot, Dr 215 

Temperance Increases Happi- 
ness 342 

Temperamental Requirements... 114 

Thief, A Mother's 232 

Theosophical Objections 47 

Thinkers, Why They Disagree . . . 26 
Thinking, An Essential to Right 60 

Phenomena of 68 

Controls Conduct 68 

Thompson, Dr 43, 285 

Thieves, Offspring of 302 

Time to Be Born 211 

Tobacco, Effects of 326 

Effects on Children 327 

Hereditary Influences 327 

Transcient States, Effects of.... 208 

Triangle of Man's Life 39 

Truth, A Self-Evident 26 

The Light of 17 

Twentieth Century 18 

Unions, Favorable Results of... 138 



PAGE 

Unhappy ... 307 

Variations 149 

Explained 100 

Through Parental Differences. 101 
Through Maternal Impressions 219 

in Sisters 226 

Ventilation 171 

Viability 212 

Vice, Defense of 223 

and Commercialism 308 

Virgilo 30 

Virility, To Increase 176 

Determines Results 210 

Governs Transmission 212 

Virtue Is Its Own Reward 123 

Vital Principle 83 

Von Kraftebings 143 

Watson, Sir T 144 

Wealth, The Power of 295 

Abuses of 298 

Weismann 88, 94, 253 

Wheeler, General Joe 73 

Will, To Strengthen the 79 

Willard, Frances 33, 50, 121, 226 

Woman's Crowning Virtue 334 

Greatest Gift 200 

Great Mistake 339 

Worrying 197 

Wundt 52 

Zeime...,, 152 



1900 



"* ,^ x 



%*& 







^ >- 






oV 




a" n ' 




• *p. 






^- V 



~ r> 



\ 



o 



asO 



A 



^ "% V* 



> A^ ^ 






,0© 



^ *v 






9^ O »/ c A ^ 



s" 




s - 












■%><£ 






•p 





















,v 



\ v 



A -A 



; 



V o> 









o 



W* 



\> 












o\ 












0>' ./ 



■ ' ■ 



^ c 









^ <k 






& J 



<* \ A 






\ 









O N 



■7 -p 






^ 



^ V 



A x 









9, *i "> 






^ - 









\ 






S) 



-p. 



ft V -3b. 



•p 



.A. 



„A?> ** 









■ 



><*. ^ 



3 



# A N 






,6* 



nH -t. 



& 



o 



^ . 



\* - 






** ^ 



• \ 












\ 



\ N 













O --P A 

^ A X 









f x <p 



^ / 












^ v 
















>- 










*. 










^ 




y 






























*b 


~t 













^.,s 









.^° 






?* 



*^v 






.-6° 





















v. V 

V 



^ 





















>0o 












.A . - ^ V 






'p 
y< 












^.^ 









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 169 396 6 



r^ 



X 



■ 



■ 




